The Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) has urged the Federal Government and the National Assembly to take urgent steps to protect the Nigerian media from what it described as the growing dominance of Big Tech companies in the country’s information ecosystem.
In a joint statement, the NPO warned that Nigeria risks losing control of its democratic conversation, national cohesion and information sovereignty to unregulated foreign technology firms if decisive action is not taken.
The statement noted that global platforms including Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), Amazon, Apple and Microsoft now act as major distributors of content and gatekeepers in the media industry. These companies control advertising, news consumption and streaming, while Amazon and Apple also produce media content.
The NPO – which includes the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) – described the situation as a national threat.
According to the organisations, global digital platforms dominate Nigeria’s digital advertising market, determine what Nigerians see online through algorithms, and move revenue offshore, while local newsrooms struggle to survive.
“This is not conventional market disruption,” the NPO said. “It is the emergence of private, transnational gatekeepers over public discourse, operating beyond the effective reach of national democratic accountability.”
The statement highlighted that the decline of professional journalism could have serious consequences for national security, elections, social cohesion, and press freedom. It noted that no intelligence or counterterrorism system can replace credible information structures.
The organisations stressed that press freedom cannot exist without financial stability, adding that newsrooms that cannot pay salaries, fund investigations, or retain skilled professionals are effectively unfree.
The NPO cited measures in the European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and South Africa, where governments have introduced competition laws and bargaining frameworks to regulate digital platforms and ensure fair payment for news content.
It called on Nigeria to adopt a legally grounded, homegrown solution through existing digital legislation or targeted amendments that would recognise journalism as a public-interest activity, correct bargaining power imbalances, ensure fair compensation for Nigerian news content, and preserve innovation, competition and consumer choice.
The organisations said that institutions like the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) already have powers to enforce remedies and penalties where necessary.
Describing the appeal as “a call to leadership, not alarm,” the NPO warned that inaction could result in rising misinformation, weakened institutions, reduced public trust, and fragile national cohesion.
“Protecting the Nigerian press is not an industry rescue,” the statement concluded. “It is an investment in national stability, democratic durability, and Nigeria’s standing as a serious constitutional democracy.”
The statement was signed by Maiden Alex-Ibru, president of NPAN; Eze Anaba, president of NGE; Salihu Dembos, chairman of BON; Danlami Nmodu, president of GOCOP, and Alhassan Yahaya, president of NUJ.
The NPO said it is ready to collaborate with the Presidency, National Assembly, regulators, civil society, broadcasters, and technology companies to design a fair, forward-looking Nigerian framework.
