President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to investigate major global technology companies and Generative Artificial Intelligence platforms over allegations of anti-competitive practices and unlawful exploitation of the content of Nigerian media organisations.
This came about four months after Tinubu promised that his government would support the evidence-led campaign of the Nigerian media against Big Tech dominance, anti-competitive activities, and the harsh economic headwinds affecting local media.
The move followed a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation, an umbrella body comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers.
The directive, conveyed to the FCCPC through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, could open a new chapter in the relationship between global digital platforms and Nigeria’s media industry, which has for years complained about declining revenues and the increasing use of its content by technology companies without compensation.
