How tech compensation law will save digital-first newsroom like ours
When the news broke that President Bola Tinubu directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate global Big Tech platforms—Google, Meta, X, and Generative AI engines—for exploiting local news content without paying fair value, many readers likely saw it as a battle between giant corporations. It sounds like a high-level dispute meant only for traditional print legacy titles and multi-billion-naira broadcasting houses.
That view misses the bigger picture.
The true frontline of this battle is digital. For independent, web-native platforms like NigerianSketch.com, as well as our colleagues across the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), the outcome of this federal probe—and the binding laws that should follow—is not just about regulatory compliance. It is a matter of basic economic survival.
For years, digital-first publishers in Nigeria have operated under an unfair paradox. Every single day, local reporters break vital stories, investigate public spending, and cover grassroots community affairs. Yet, when those stories go live, tech giants automatically index them, display snippets in search feeds, and use them to keep millions of users glued to their apps.
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Adding to this pressure, artificial intelligence tools scrape local reporting to answer user queries directly—often giving readers the facts without sending them to the original source website.
The tech platforms monetize this attention through massive ad sales, while the local outlets that paid for the reporting receive pennies in standard ad network payouts. In simple terms: local newsrooms bear 100% of the cost of producing news, but Big Tech takes the vast majority of the revenue generated by that attention.
If Nigeria follows the path forged by Australia, Canada, and the European Union by enacting a clear News Media Bargaining Code, the rules of the game will shift in four vital ways for independent digital publishers.
- Direct Revenue from Original Content: Search engines and social media apps will no longer be allowed to freely extract local news feeds without a licensing framework. A mandatory compensation code creates a steady, predictable revenue stream for online outlets.
- Fair Payment for AI Training: AI platforms will have to compensate local publishers when using their archived and fresh reports to train language models.
- Power Through Collective Bargaining: Smaller, independent news websites often lack the leverage to negotiate with tech giants individually. Under publisher coalitions like GOCOP, digital-native outlets gain equal bargaining power, ensuring funds flow down to small newsrooms rather than staying strictly with legacy print giants.
- Better Journalism for the Reader: Sustainable revenue means online newspapers can retain skilled journalists, fund deep investigative reporting, pay competitive salaries, and maintain secure digital infrastructure without relying on sensationalism or clickbait.
Journalism is a public good, but it is not free to produce. An independent newsroom cannot survive solely on good intentions and declining ad network pennies.
The FCCPC’s investigation is a welcome first step. However, the federal government must push past inquiry and pass strong, enforceable legislation. Ensuring Big Tech pays fairly for local news content isn’t just about protecting media owners; it is about preserving independent public-interest journalism for every citizen who relies on a free, well-funded press.
