FG orders probe of anti-competitive practices by Meta, Google, X against Nigerian media
Tunji Bello, Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC)
Federal Government has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate allegations of anti-competitive practices against major global technology companies, including Meta, Alphabet (Google), X (formerly Twitter), and several Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms operating in Nigeria.
The directive followed a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), which accused the companies of practices that allegedly undermine fair competition, threaten the commercial viability of Nigerian media organisations, and infringe the rights of content creators and publishers.
The NPO comprises the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP).
The Federal Government’s position was conveyed to the FCCPC in a letter signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, following a directive by President Bola Tinubu.
According to the commission, the investigation is expected to examine concerns over the growing influence of digital platforms on Nigeria’s media industry and determine whether any of the companies have breached the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 or any other applicable law.
The petition alleges that some technology companies engage in practices capable of distorting competition while commercially benefiting from journalistic content without fair compensation to Nigerian publishers.
It also raises concerns over the alleged unauthorised extraction, scraping, ingestion and commercial use of copyrighted news articles, broadcast materials and other original journalistic works in the training and development of Generative AI models.
Another key issue is the alleged lack of equitable commercial arrangements between global technology firms and Nigerian media organisations, with publishers claiming they have been denied meaningful opportunities to negotiate fair compensation for the use of their content.
Responding to the directive, FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, in a release said the commission would conduct an independent, transparent and evidence-based investigation.
He stressed that the investigation should not be interpreted as a presumption of wrongdoing against any company.
The latest investigation comes barely a year after the FCCPC secured a landmark judgment against Meta over alleged violations of Nigeria’s competition and consumer protection laws, including data privacy breaches. The commission imposed a $220 million penalty on the technology company in 2025, although Meta has appealed the decision.
