Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate major technology companies, including Meta, Google, Alphabet, X and Generative AI platforms, over allegations of anti-competitive practices and exploitation of Nigerian media content.
The directive followed a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers.
According to a statement issued on Monday by FCCPC Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, the directive was conveyed in a letter signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
The FCCPC’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, said the investigation would be independent, transparent and evidence-based, stressing that no company would be presumed guilty before the conclusion of the inquiry.
The commission will examine allegations of market dominance, anti-competitive conduct, unauthorised scraping and commercial use of copyrighted news content for training Generative AI models, as well as claims that Nigerian media organisations have been denied fair commercial compensation for the use of their journalistic content.
The FCCPC noted that Meta is already appealing a previous $220 million fine imposed after the commission secured a court judgment over alleged violations of Nigeria’s consumer protection laws.
The commission also referenced South Africa’s experience, where negotiations following a competition investigation reportedly led to Google agreeing to compensate news media organisations with annual payments to support the sustainability of the country’s journalism sector.