Tinubu orders investigation into Meta, Google, X over alleged exploitation of Nigerian news content

• President Tinubu has directed the FCCPC to investigate Meta, Google, X and some AI platforms over alleged exploitation of Nigerian news content.

• The investigation followed a petition by the Nigerian Press Organisation representing newspaper owners, journalists, broadcasters and online publishers.

• FCCPC will examine allegations of anti-competitive conduct, market dominance and the alleged unauthorised use of copyrighted Nigerian news content.

• FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman Tunji Bello said the investigation is evidence-based and does not presume any company is guilty.

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate major global technology companies, including Meta, Alphabet (Google), X (formerly Twitter) and certain Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms over allegations of anti-competitive practices and the alleged exploitation of Nigerian news content without fair compensation.

The directive followed a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), an umbrella body 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).

The Federal Government's directive was conveyed to the FCCPC through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.

In a statement issued by the FCCPC's Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, the commission said the investigation would focus on allegations that the technology firms engaged in anti-competitive practices, unlawfully exploited Nigerian media content and adopted other conduct capable of undermining the country's news industry.

According to the statement, the media organisations argued that the activities of some technology companies have weakened the commercial viability of Nigerian publishers while denying them meaningful opportunities to negotiate fair compensation for the use of their content.

The FCCPC said the probe would examine allegations of market dominance, potential anti-competitive conduct and the alleged unauthorised extraction, scraping, ingestion or commercial use of copyrighted news articles, broadcast materials and other original journalistic works for the development and training of Generative AI models. The commission will also investigate complaints that Nigerian publishers have been denied equitable commercial arrangements despite the value their content generates for global digital platforms.

Commenting on the investigation, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Tunji Bello, said the commission would conduct an independent, transparent and evidence-based inquiry.

"We recognise the strategic importance of the media to Nigeria's democracy and the equally significant role of technology in driving innovation and economic growth. 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 said.

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He stressed that the investigation should not be interpreted as a finding of wrongdoing against any company, noting that all parties would be given the opportunity to present their positions before any conclusions are reached.

According to Bello, the commission will determine whether any of the practices under review violate the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, or any other applicable Nigerian law.

The investigation places Nigeria among a growing number of countries seeking to redefine the relationship between global technology companies and news publishers amid concerns that digital platforms derive significant commercial value from journalism without adequately compensating the organisations that produce it.