The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has launched an investigation into major technology companies and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms over allegations of anti-competitive practices and the unlawful use of Nigerian news content.
The probe follows a directive from President Bola Tinubu after the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) submitted a joint petition raising concerns about how global technology firms use and monetise journalistic content. The NPO comprises the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers.
According to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, concerns have grown within the Nigerian media industry over the impact of major digital platforms, including Meta, Alphabet, X (formerly Twitter), and Generative AI companies, on the sustainability of local news organisations.
FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, said the investigation would be independent, transparent and evidence-based. He stressed that the inquiry is not based on any presumption of wrongdoing but is intended to determine whether the activities of the affected companies violate Nigeria’s competition and consumer protection laws.
Among the issues under review are allegations of market dominance, anti-competitive conduct, and the unauthorised scraping, extraction and commercial use of copyrighted news articles, broadcast materials and other journalistic content to develop and train Generative AI models.
The commission will also examine claims that Nigerian media organisations have been denied fair commercial negotiations and compensation for the use of their content by global technology companies, despite the growing commercial value derived from such materials.
The FCCPC noted that similar concerns in South Africa led to an investigation by the country’s Competition Commission, after which Google agreed to compensate South African news publishers with about R688 million ($40 million) annually for up to five years. The commission said its findings would determine whether similar breaches of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act or other applicable Nigerian laws have occurred.
