President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate major global technology companies and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms over allegations of anti-competitive practices and the unlawful use of Nigerian media content.
The directive followed a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), an umbrella body comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP).
The Federal Government conveyed the President’s directive to the FCCPC through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
According to the Commission, the investigation will examine allegations against companies including Meta, Alphabet, X (formerly Twitter), and certain Generative AI platforms accused of engaging in practices that may undermine fair competition, weaken the commercial sustainability of Nigerian media organisations, and infringe on the rights of content creators and publishers.
FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, said the investigation would be conducted independently, transparently, and based on evidence.
He stressed that the inquiry should not be interpreted as a presumption of wrongdoing against any company, noting that all affected parties would be given the opportunity to present their positions before any conclusions are reached.
Bello said the Commission would determine whether any of the alleged practices violate the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 or other applicable laws.
The investigation will focus on allegations of abuse of market dominance, anti-competitive conduct, unauthorised scraping, extraction, ingestion and commercial use of copyrighted news articles, broadcast materials and other journalistic content for the training and development of Generative AI models.
It will also examine claims that Nigerian media organisations have been denied fair commercial negotiations and adequate compensation for the use of their original content by global technology companies.
The FCCPC noted that it had previously investigated Meta and, in 2025, secured a landmark judgment against the company over violations of the FCCPA, including data privacy breaches, resulting in a $220 million fine. Meta has since appealed the decision.
The Commission also pointed to developments in South Africa, where a similar investigation by the Competition Commission culminated in an agreement requiring Google to compensate South African news organisations with R688 million (about $40 million) annually for between three and five years.
The Federal Government said the outcome of the investigation is expected to shape the future relationship between global technology companies and Nigeria’s media industry while ensuring that competition in the country’s digital ecosystem remains fair, transparent and compliant with Nigerian law.