Nigeria has opened an investigation into Meta, Alphabet, X and several generative AI platforms over allegations that they have unfairly exploited news content from local media organisations without adequate compensation.
The probe, ordered by President Bola Tinubu, will be carried out by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) following a petition from the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), a coalition representing newspaper publishers, broadcasters, journalists and online publishers. The petition alleges that some of the world’s largest technology companies have engaged in anti-competitive practices that threaten the commercial viability of Nigeria’s media industry.
According to the FCCPC, the investigation will examine whether the companies abused their market position, commercially exploited copyrighted news content without permission, or denied Nigerian publishers the opportunity to negotiate fair licensing agreements. The inquiry will also assess whether generative AI platforms used journalistic content to train their models without authorisation.
The companies named in the petition include Meta, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, X, formerly Twitter, and several AI platforms operating in Nigeria. Authorities have not identified which AI companies are under investigation. Meta, Alphabet and X had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of reporting.
The FCCPC stressed that the investigation should not be interpreted as a finding of wrongdoing.
Tunji Bello, the commission’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said the inquiry would be conducted independently and transparently, giving all parties an opportunity to present evidence before any conclusions are reached. The commission will determine whether any of the alleged practices violate the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 or other applicable laws.
The case centres on a growing concern shared by publishers around the world. News organisations argue that search engines, social media platforms and AI systems benefit from journalism by distributing articles, attracting users or training AI models, while the publishers that create the content receive little or no financial return.
Several countries have already introduced measures to address the issue. Australia passed its News Media Bargaining Code in 2021, requiring digital platforms to negotiate payments with publishers. Canada later adopted similar legislation, while France fined Google over disputes related to neighbouring rights and publisher compensation. South Africa has also pushed major technology companies to improve commercial arrangements with local news organisations.
Nigeria’s investigation could become one of the country’s most consequential regulatory actions against global technology companies. If the FCCPC concludes that competition or copyright laws have been breached, the outcome could reshape how major platforms negotiate with Nigerian publishers and how AI companies obtain training data from locally produced journalism.
The inquiry also comes as governments worldwide face increasing pressure to balance technological innovation with the protection of creators, publishers and copyright holders. As generative AI becomes more widely adopted, questions over who owns training data and whether content creators should be compensated have become central to policy discussions.
For now, the FCCPC says its focus is on establishing the facts. The commission has invited all affected parties to participate in the investigation, emphasising that no company has been found liable and that the process will be evidence-based.
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