President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate major global technology companies and generative artificial intelligence platforms operating in Nigeria over allegations of anti-competitive conduct and the unauthorized use of news content produced by Nigerian media organizations.
The move signals Nigeria’s most significant regulatory intervention yet into the relationship between global digital platforms, artificial intelligence developers and the country’s media industry, aligning the country with a growing international push to make technology companies compensate news publishers whose content is used to drive digital advertising, search results and AI systems.
The FCCPC disclosed the directive in a statement issued on Monday by its Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, saying the investigation followed a petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organization (NPO).
The NPO comprises the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON), and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP).
According to the Commission, the directive was formally conveyed through a letter signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
The FCCPC said the inquiry will examine the activities of leading technology companies, including Meta, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, and X, formerly Twitter, as well as several generative AI platforms operating within Nigeria.
Although the Commission did not identify individual AI companies, its reference to “certain generative AI platforms” indicates that developers such as OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, and Anthropic, developer of Claude AI, could also fall within the scope of the investigation.
The regulator said the inquiry was prompted by mounting concerns from Nigeria’s media industry that global digital platforms have fundamentally altered the economics of journalism by benefiting commercially from news content while contributing relatively little to the organizations that produce it.
Publishers argue that search engines, social media platforms and AI systems increasingly aggregate, summarize, display and utilize journalistic content to attract users and generate revenue, often without negotiating licensing agreements or providing financial compensation to the original publishers.
FCCPC Promises Evidence-Based Investigation
Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Tunji Bello, said the Commission would undertake an independent and transparent investigation to establish whether any violations of Nigerian competition law have occurred.
“We recognize the strategic importance of the media to Nigeria’s democracy and the equally significant role of technology in driving innovation and economic growth,” Bello said.
“Our responsibility is to objectively determine the facts and ensure that competition within the digital ecosystem remains fair, transparent, and consistent with Nigerian law.”
He stressed that the investigation should not be interpreted as evidence that the companies under review had already breached the law.
“This inquiry is not directed at any entity by presumption of wrongdoing,” Bello said.
“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.”
He added that every organization involved would be given an opportunity to present its position before any regulatory conclusions are reached.
One of the most significant aspects of the investigation concerns how generative AI companies acquire and use journalistic content.
The FCCPC said it would examine allegations involving the unauthorized extraction, scraping, ingestion and commercial use of copyrighted news reports, broadcast materials and other original journalistic works for the development and training of large language models.
The issue has become one of the most contentious legal questions confronting the global AI industry.
Publishers around the world have increasingly accused AI developers of using copyrighted articles without permission to train models capable of generating summaries, answering questions, and producing content that competes directly with the original publishers. Several major lawsuits involving AI developers and media organizations are already underway in the United States, Europe, and other jurisdictions.
Nigeria’s inquiry suggests the country may also seek to establish clearer legal standards governing the use of copyrighted journalistic material in AI development.
Competition Concerns Extend Beyond AI
The Commission said its investigation will also examine broader allegations that dominant digital platforms have engaged in anti-competitive conduct by limiting the commercial bargaining power of Nigerian media organizations.
Among the issues under review are claims that technology companies have failed to provide local publishers with fair opportunities to negotiate commercial agreements or receive compensation for content that attracts users to their platforms.
These concerns mirror debates that have emerged globally as governments seek to rebalance the relationship between digital platforms and traditional news organizations.
For more than a decade, publishers have lamented that while technology companies have captured an increasing share of digital advertising revenue, news organizations continue to bear most of the costs associated with producing original journalism.
The resulting financial pressures have contributed to newsroom downsizing, publication closures and declining investment in investigative reporting across many countries.
The FCCPC noted that similar interventions have already taken place elsewhere.
It pointed to South Africa, where an investigation by the South African Competition Commission resulted in Google agreeing to provide approximately R688 million (about $40 million) annually to local news publishers for between three and five years.
Comparable regulatory frameworks have also emerged in Australia, Canada, and parts of Europe, where lawmakers have introduced legislation requiring major digital platforms to negotiate payment agreements with news organizations.
The investigations reflect growing concerns that market forces alone have failed to ensure sustainable commercial relationships between global technology companies and media businesses.
FCCPC Building on Earlier Action Against Meta
The latest investigation comes against the backdrop of an assertive regulatory approach by the FCCPC toward multinational technology companies.
In 2024, the Commission imposed a $220 million penalty on Meta, alleging violations of Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, including discriminatory practices involving Nigerian users’ data and broader consumer protection breaches.
Meta challenged the sanction.
However, in April 2025, Nigeria’s Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal upheld the Commission’s decision and ordered the social media company to pay the fine, marking one of the country’s most significant regulatory victories over a global technology company.
That decision strengthened the FCCPC’s enforcement credentials and demonstrated the Nigerian government’s willingness to pursue large multinational firms where it believes local competition and consumer protection laws have been violated.
The outcome of the investigation could have far-reaching consequences for both Nigeria’s media industry and the country’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
If the Commission determines that global technology companies have engaged in anti-competitive conduct or improperly used copyrighted news content, the inquiry could pave the way for new regulatory rules governing licensing arrangements, AI training practices and commercial negotiations between digital platforms and publishers.
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