President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to launch a full-scale investigation into global technology giants and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms over allegations of anti-competitive behavior and the unauthorized exploitation of content produced by Nigerian media houses.
The directive stems from a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), an umbrella body encompassing 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’s mandate was formally communicated to the FCCPC through a letter signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris. The investigation aims to address pressing concerns regarding the existential threat digital monopolies pose to the economic sustainability of Nigeria’s local news ecosystem.
The petition explicitly names major technology conglomerates, including Meta, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), and X (formerly Twitter), alongside several Generative AI platforms operating within the country. The media unions allege that these entities engage in practices that stifle fair competition, undermine the commercial viability of domestic press houses, and infringe upon the intellectual property rights of content creators.
Reacting to the directive, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Tunji Bello, promised that the commission would execute an independent, transparent, and evidence-driven inquiry.
“We recognise the strategic importance of the media to Nigeria’s democracy and the equally significant role of technology in driving innovation and economic growth,” Bello stated. “Our responsibility is to objectively determine the facts and ensure that competition within the digital ecosystem remains fair, transparent, and consistent with Nigerian law.”
However, the FCCPC boss cautioned that the probe should not be viewed as an immediate indictment of the tech firms.
“This inquiry is not directed at any entity by presumption of wrongdoing,” Bello added. “Rather, it is an opportunity to carefully examine the facts, hear from all affected parties, and determine whether any conduct has resulted in anti-competitive outcomes or unfair business practices. Every party will be accorded a fair opportunity to present relevant information before any conclusions are reached.”
The commission clarified that the investigation will establish whether the tech firms’ operations run afoul of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) of 2018.
Key areas of regulatory scrutiny will include market dominance abuses, as well as the unauthorized “scraping,” ingestion, and commercial monetization of copyrighted news articles and broadcast materials used to train foundational AI models. Furthermore, the FCCPC will look into the stark absence of equitable commercial agreements, following claims that local publishers are systematically denied the leverage to negotiate fair compensation for their intellectual property.
The regulatory showdown comes on the heels of the FCCPC’s previous high-profile battle with Meta. In 2025, the commission secured a landmark judgment against the social media giant for severe data breaches and FCCPA violations, slapping the company with a $220 million fine—a ruling Meta has since appealed.
The statement also drew parallels to recent regulatory milestones in South Africa, where a similar probe by the South African Competition Commission forced Google to agree to an annual payout of R688 million (approximately $40 million) to local news outlets over a three-to-five-year period.n
