Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has instructed the country’s competition watchdog to launch a formal inquiry into major technology companies, targeting alleged anti-competitive behavior and the unauthorized use of news content. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission announced the directive late Monday.
The FCCPC said the investigation would look into complaints brought by Nigerian media organizations against companies including Meta, Alphabet, X, and generative artificial intelligence platforms operating within Nigeria.
The complaints were filed by the Nigerian Press Organisation, a body that represents newspaper owners, journalists’ unions, broadcasters, and online publishers throughout the country.
Meta, Alphabet, and X did not provide comment when contacted for a response.
The inquiry could serve as a significant test of Nigeria’s capacity to hold global digital platforms accountable — companies whose search engines, social media networks, and AI tools have fundamentally reshaped how news is shared and how money is made from it.
According to the FCCPC, investigators will look at allegations of market dominance, anti-competitive conduct, the unauthorized extraction or commercial use of copyrighted news and broadcast material, and the use of journalistic content to train AI systems.
The commission was clear that the investigation does not assume any wrongdoing has occurred, and that all parties involved will have a chance to present their side before any findings are made.
Nigeria is not alone in taking this approach. Regulators in multiple countries have been examining whether large tech companies should be required to pay publishers for content that drives user traffic, powers AI tools, or generates advertising revenue.
In Africa, South Africa’s competition authority secured concessions from Google and YouTube last year, including a media support package worth 688 million rand — roughly $42 million — following its own inquiry into digital platforms and the news industry.
France levied a €500 million fine against Google in 2021 over its handling of negotiations with news publishers and violations tied in part to the use of publisher content in AI systems. Australia and Canada have each put in place bargaining frameworks that led to payment deals between tech giants and media outlets.
