The Federal Government has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to launch an immediate investigation into major global technology firms and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies over alleged anti-competitive and anti-media practices.
​The directive, issued by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, targets tech giants including Meta, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), X (formerly Twitter), and several Generative AI platforms operating within the country. The probe follows a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), an umbrella body representing the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), and other media stakeholders.
​According to a statement released by the FCCPC, the investigation will focus heavily on how global digital platforms impact the financial sustainability of the local news ecosystem.
Key area of investigation will include Market Dominance & Unfair Competition, unauthorised content scraping and lack of fair compensation. This determine whether tech giants use their market monopolies to distort fair competition and choke off advertising revenue traditionally relied upon by local media houses.
​The Federal Government’s directive was formally transmitted to the commission via a letter from the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
​Responding to the order, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Tunji Bello, assured stakeholders that the commission would conduct an independent, transparent, and evidence-based inquiry. However, he emphasized that the launch of the probe does not imply immediate guilt.
​”Our responsibility is to objectively determine the facts and ensure that competition within the digital ecosystem remains fair, transparent, and consistent with Nigerian law,” Bello stated. “This inquiry is not directed at any entity by presumption of wrongdoing. Rather, it is an opportunity to carefully examine the facts [and] hear from all affected parties.”
​This scrutiny comes amidst a broader global push, similar to regulations seen in Australia, Canada, and South Africa, to compel Big Tech firms to pay local publishers for news content. Notably, it also follows a landmark $220 million penalty imposed on Meta by the FCCPC for data privacy and consumer rights violations, a ruling which Meta is currently appealing.
The FCCPC has stated that the findings will determine whether the targeted tech firms have breached the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) of 2018.
