By Oluwakemi Kindness
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 unauthorised use of Nigerian media content.
The directive follows a petition submitted by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), 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).
In a statement issued on Monday, by Ondaje Ijagwu, FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, says the Federal Government conveyed the President’s directive through a letter signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
According to the statement, the media organisations accuses companies, including Meta, Alphabet, X and several AI platforms, of engaging in practices that threaten the commercial viability of Nigerian news organisations and undermine the rights of publishers and content creators.
The petition alleges that the companies abuse their market dominance by scraping and commercially exploiting copyrighted news content to train AI models without authorisation or fair compensation, while also engaging in practices that distort competition in the digital media ecosystem.
FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, assured that the investigation would be conducted independently, transparently and strictly on the basis of evidence.
He said the commission would determine whether the companies violated the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 or any other applicable Nigerian law.
“The inquiry will examine allegations relating to market dominance, the unauthorised scraping and commercial use of copyrighted news content for AI training, and whether Nigerian publishers have been unfairly denied compensation for the value created by their journalism,” Bello said.
He added that all parties involved would be given a fair opportunity to present their positions before the commission reaches any conclusions.
The FCCPC noted that the investigation forms part of broader efforts to ensure fairness, accountability and competition in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving digital economy.
The commission also recalled its ongoing legal dispute with Meta, which is appealing a $220 million penalty imposed by the FCCPC over alleged violations of Nigeria’s competition and consumer protection laws.
