Tinubu Orders Probe of Google, Meta, X Over Alleged Exploitation of Nigerian Media Content

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate global technology companies, including Google, Meta and X, over allegations of anti-competitive practices and the unlawful exploitation of content belonging to Nigerian media organisations.

The directive followed a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), an umbrella body representing key stakeholders in Nigeria’s media industry. The petition alleged that the activities of the technology firms have undermined fair competition, threatened the commercial viability of local media organisations and infringed on the rights of content creators and publishers.

According to the FCCPC, the investigation will also cover certain Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms operating in Nigeria. Among the issues to be examined are allegations of market dominance, anti-competitive conduct, and the unauthorised extraction, scraping, ingestion and commercial use of copyrighted news articles and other journalistic content for the development and training of AI models.

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Tunji Bello, said the commission would conduct an independent, transparent and evidence-based investigation, stressing that the probe does not presume any wrongdoing by the companies involved.

He assured that all affected parties would be given a fair opportunity to present relevant information before any conclusions or regulatory actions are taken.

The outcome of the investigation is expected to determine whether the alleged practices violate the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, or any other applicable Nigerian law, as authorities seek to safeguard fair competition and protect the sustainability of the country’s media industry.