President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate major global technology companies and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms over allegations of anti-competitive practices and the unauthorised use of content belonging to Nigerian media organisations.
The directive follows a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), an umbrella body comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP).
The Federal Government conveyed the President’s directive to the FCCPC through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
According to a statement issued on Monday by the commission, the investigation will examine allegations that some of the world’s biggest technology companies have engaged in practices that undermine fair competition and threaten the sustainability of Nigeria’s media industry.
The companies named include Meta, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), X (formerly Twitter) and certain Generative AI platforms operating in Nigeria.
