Nigeria’s leading media and journalism organisations are calling on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to step in against what they describe as the growing dominance of global digital platforms over the country’s media and information ecosystem.
In a joint statement issued under the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), the groups warned that unregulated foreign technology companies now wield outsized influence over how information is distributed and monetised in Nigeria, threatening the sustainability of local journalism and weakening national information sovereignty.
The NPO—which includes the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, and the Nigeria Union of Journalists—said global platforms now control much of Nigeria’s digital advertising market, dictate content visibility through opaque algorithms, and extract advertising revenue offshore, while domestic news organisations struggle to survive.
The groups argued that the issue goes beyond commercial competition, describing it as a structural imbalance created by powerful digital intermediaries that act as de facto gatekeepers of public discourse without being subject to local democratic oversight.
They warned that the decline of professional journalism could have broader consequences for national security, elections, and social cohesion, noting that weakened newsrooms are less able to counter misinformation and provide credible, verified reporting.
The statement also highlighted international efforts to rein in platform power, pointing to regulatory and bargaining frameworks adopted in regions including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and South Africa to ensure news publishers are compensated for their content.
The organisations urged Nigeria to pursue a locally tailored regulatory approach—either through existing digital laws or targeted legislative amendments—that would recognise journalism as a public-interest activity, address bargaining power imbalances between platforms and publishers, and ensure fair compensation for Nigerian news content, while preserving innovation and competition.
They added that existing regulators such as the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Nigerian Copyright Commission already have the authority to oversee enforcement and impose remedies where necessary.
The statement was signed by leaders of the five media bodies, who said they are open to working with policymakers, regulators, civil society groups, broadcasters, and technology companies to develop a sustainable framework for Nigeria’s digital media economy.
