NPO Urges Presidency, N’Assembly to Act Against Foreign Digital Control in Nigeria

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Nigeria’s leading media-centred organisations yesterday called on the Presidency and the National Assembly to urgently intervene in the country’s digital information space, warning that the nation risks losing control of its public discourse to powerful global technology platforms.

Coming under the umbrella of the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), the groups, in a  statement titled: “Preserving Nigeria’s Information Sovereignty: Why the Federal Government Must Act to Secure the Nigerian Press in the Digital Age,” said the request was a public interest intervention, rather than industry lobbying.

The statement was jointly signed by Maiden Alex-Ibru, President of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN); Eze Anaba, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE); Salihu Dembos, Chairman of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON);  Danlami Nmodu, President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP); and Alhassan Yahaya, President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).

According to the NPO, Nigeria can no longer afford to leave its information ecosystem at the mercy of ‘unregulated global digital gatekeepers’ whose commercial interests now shape what Nigerians read, watch and believe.

Besides, the organisation warned that global digital platforms have fundamentally altered the country’s media environment. While acknowledging their role in expanding access and innovation, it said the platforms now dominate digital advertising, control content distribution through opaque algorithms and monetise Nigerian news content without fair compensation to local news producers.

As a result, revenue that once sustained Nigerian newsrooms, the NPO said, is increasingly being extracted offshore, weakening the economic base of professional journalism.

“The rapid rise of global digital platforms has fundamentally altered Nigeria’s information environment. While these platforms have expanded access and innovation, they have also created a structural imbalance of power that now threatens the sustainability of professional journalism – the backbone of informed citizenship and accountable governance.

“Today, global platforms dominate digital advertising markets. Algorithms controlled outside Nigeria determine what Nigerians see, amplify, or ignore. Nigerian news content is monetised at scale without proportionate reinvestment in local journalism.

“Revenue that once sustained domestic newsrooms is increasingly extracted offshore. This is not a conventional market disruption. It is the emergence of private, transnational gatekeepers over public discourse, operating beyond the effective reach of national democratic accountability,” the NPO stated.

The organisation stressed that the consequences extend far beyond the media industry and now pose risks to national security and social stability.

In a country as diverse as Nigeria, the NPO said credible journalism plays a stabilising role by providing verified information and countering false narratives. It warned that when trusted news institutions decline, misinformation and disinformation spread more easily, deepening polarisation and fuelling insecurity.

On democracy, the NPO argued that elections, public accountability and citizen participation depend on reliable information. It cautioned that when professional journalism is displaced by algorithm-driven virality, democratic processes become vulnerable to manipulation, foreign interference and coordinated falsehoods.

The group also linked press freedom directly to economic viability, saying constitutional guarantees alone are not enough. A media sector that cannot pay salaries, fund investigations or retain skilled professionals, it said, is effectively unfree.

It noted that declining revenues are already leading to newsroom closures, job losses and falling professional standards, resulting in the loss of skills, institutional memory and national capacity.

“Elections, public accountability, and citizen participation depend on reliable information. When professional journalism is displaced by algorithmic virality, democratic processes become vulnerable to distortion, foreign influence, and coordinated falsehoods.

“Press freedom is not sustained solely by constitutional guarantees. It requires economic independence. A press that struggles to pay salaries, fund investigations, and continues to face the headwinds of rising production costs and the challenge of retaining talent is, in effect, unfree, regardless of legal protections.

“The erosion of journalism revenue is already translating into newsroom contraction, job losses, and declining professional standards. This represents a loss of skilled labour, institutional memory, and national capacity that cannot be easily rebuilt,” the NPO pointed out.

It described journalism as strategic national infrastructure, comparable to education, public health and the judiciary. It said the products of journalism, including verified facts, investigative reporting and balanced analysis are public goods essential to democratic life.

However, it warned that the current digital market allows global platforms to extract disproportionate value from these public goods while undermining the institutions that produce them.

The organisation pointed to developments in other democracies, saying Nigeria would not be acting alone by intervening. It cited the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK), which have adopted competition and digital market rules to curb platform dominance, as well as Australia’s bargaining framework and Canada’s legislation mandating compensation for news content.

It also referenced South Africa, where a competition inquiry has led to enforceable remedies aimed at restoring balance between platforms and local media.

According to the NPO, these examples show a growing global consensus that states must protect the integrity of their information systems and cannot rely on market forces alone.

The group urged Nigeria to adopt a measured, locally designed solution, either through existing digital laws or targeted amendments. Such a framework, it said, should recognise journalism as a public-interest activity, correct extreme bargaining power imbalances and ensure fair remuneration for Nigerian news content, without stifling innovation or consumer choice.

It noted that Nigeria already has institutions with the legal authority to act, including the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC). These bodies, it said, can impose proportionate remedies, including sanctions for abuse of dominance or refusal to negotiate in good faith. The NPO emphasised that its demand is not for protectionism but for market correction.

“NPO respectfully urges the Presidency and the National Assembly to adopt a measured, Nigerian-designed framework – whether through existing digital legislation or targeted amendments – that: Recognises journalism as a public-interest activity, corrects extreme bargaining power imbalances, ensures fair remuneration for Nigerian news content, preserves innovation, competition, and consumer choice,” the umbrella organisation requested.

According to the NPO, history would judge current leaders by whether they recognised the strategic importance of information sovereignty early enough to respond, emphasising that protecting the Nigerian press is not an industry bailout, but an investment in national stability, democratic durability and Nigeria’s credibility as a constitutional democracy.

“NPO stands ready to collaborate with the federal government, the National Assembly, regulators, broadcasters, editors, civil society, and technology companies to design a fair, forward-looking, and Nigerian solution. The moment to act is now!”, the media-centred organisations said.