Nigeria to investigate tech firms over news content use

The inquiry will examine complaints by a Nigerian media groups against US tech giants, including Meta, and generative AI platforms operating in the country.  (Reuters pic)

LAGOS: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has directed the country’s competition regulator to investigate major technology companies over alleged anti-competitive practices and unauthorised use of news content, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) said late on Monday.

The FCCPC said the inquiry would examine complaints by Nigerian media groups against companies including Meta, Alphabet, X and generative artificial intelligence platforms operating in Nigeria.

The complaint was submitted by the Nigerian Press Organisation, which represents newspaper owners, journalists’ unions, broadcasters and online publishers.

Alphabet, Meta and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The investigation could become a test of Nigeria’s ability to regulate global digital platforms whose search, social media and AI products have transformed how news is distributed and monetised.

The FCCPC said it would examine allegations of market dominance, anti-competitive conduct, the unauthorised extraction or commercial use of copyrighted news and broadcast content, and the use of journalistic material to train generative AI models.

The regulator said the investigation did not presume wrongdoing and that all affected parties would have an opportunity to present information before any conclusions were reached.

Regulators in several countries have examined whether large technology companies should compensate publishers for content used to attract users, train AI systems or generate advertising revenue.

In Africa, South Africa’s competition regulator last year secured concessions from Google and YouTube, including a 688 million rand (US$42 million) media support package, following a market inquiry into digital platforms and news media.

France fined Google €500 million in 2021 over failures in negotiations with news publishers and breaches linked in part to the use of publisher content by AI systems.

Australia and Canada have also introduced bargaining frameworks that resulted in payment agreements between technology companies and publishers.