Nigeria investigates digital giants and AI for practices against media

Sfollowing a directive of the Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, after receiving a petition from the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO).

The NPO brings together the Nigerian Journal Owners Association (NPAN), the Nigerian Journalist Union (NUJ), the Nigerian Broadcasting Organisations Association (BON) and the Guild of Online Business Editors (GOCOP).

Press organisations accuse certain digital platforms of illegally exploiting journalistic content, compromising the economic viability of Nigerian media and limiting the possibilities for content producers to pay.

“ We recognize the strategic importance of the media for Nigerian democracy, as well as the essential role of technology in innovation and economic growth,” said FCCPC director Tunji Bello, adding that the responsibility of the organisation “is to determine the facts objectively and to ensure that competition in the digital ecosystem remains fair and transparent.”.

Bello indicated that the investigation is still ongoing and that no conclusions have yet been drawn.

Among the points examined are the accusations of abuse of dominant position, the alleged use of press content for the training of generational AI models and the absence of trade agreements considered fair with Nigerian editors.

According to the National Communications Commission, Nigeria had 154.7 million Internet subscriptions in April.

WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and X are among the most popular platforms in the African country.

Contacted by France-Presse (AFP), Meta, Alphabet and X did not respond.

On the other hand, the identity of the Artificial Intelligence companies targeted by the investigation was not revealed in the note.

This is part of an international context of growing tensions between the media and digital platforms.

Several countries, including Canada and Australia, have already taken steps to force platforms such as Meta and Google to remunerate media for the content that generates traffic for their services.

These digital giants are regularly accused of receiving most of the online advertising revenue at the expense of the press editors.

In 2025, FCCCC imposed a fine of USD 220 million (about EUR 193 million) on the Meta for alleged breaches of Nigerian competition and consumer protection legislation.