SERAP Urges FCCPC to Investigate Google, Meta and Other Tech Giants Over Media, Consumer and Privacy Harms

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has formally requested the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to launch an investigation into several major technology companies for alleged unfair market practices, algorithmic discrimination, and harms to media organizations, consumers, and citizens’ rights in Nigeria.

In a complaint dated February 28, 2026, addressed to FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Tunji Bello, SERAP named Google, Meta (Facebook), Apple, Microsoft (including Bing), X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Amazon, and YouTube as subjects of the probe. The organization, through Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, who signed the document and issued a related statement on March 1, argued that these platforms exert significant control over Nigeria’s digital economy and information landscape without adequate accountability.

SERAP highlighted opaque algorithms, market dominance, offshore revenue extraction, and non-transparent data practices as mechanisms that allegedly shape public discourse, distort competition, and disadvantage local entities. The group stated that millions of Nigerians depend on these platforms for news dissemination, information access, and business opportunities, positioning the companies as de facto gatekeepers in the country’s information and economic ecosystems.

The complaint framed these issues as extending beyond economics to human rights concerns, including threats to media plurality, consumer protection, privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic integrity. SERAP alleged large-scale collection and monetisation of personal and behavioural data under complex consent structures interferes with privacy rights, while discriminatory algorithmic ranking and content moderation practices could weaken media sustainability and public discourse fairness.

Citing the South African Competition Commission’s prior investigation into Google – which identified systematic bias against local media content and resulted in remedies such as algorithmic transparency requirements, compliance monitoring, and potential monetary redress – SERAP urged the FCCPC to adopt similar scrutiny. The organization referenced Sections 17 and 18 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, which empower the commission to address conduct that substantially prevents, restricts, or distorts competition.

SERAP called on the FCCPC to initiate a comprehensive investigation into the alleged practices, convene a public hearing on algorithmic discrimination, market dominance, data exploitation, and consumer harm, and implement preventive measures against further unfair practices, algorithmic influence, and rights abuses. Additional demands included mandating transparency in ranking and advertising algorithms, ensuring equitable treatment of Nigerian content, establishing a compensation framework for affected media organisations, and imposing sanctions for confirmed violations.

The group warned that inaction by the FCCPC would prompt consideration of legal steps to compel regulatory intervention in the public interest. As of March 2, 2026, no official response from the FCCPC to the complaint had been reported in public sources.

The call aligns with growing global scrutiny of big technology firms’ influence on local markets and information flows. In Nigeria, where digital platforms dominate news consumption and online commerce, concerns over algorithmic bias against domestic content, revenue diversion from local publishers, and inadequate data privacy safeguards have surfaced in policy discussions. SERAP’s action seeks to enforce compliance with Nigerian competition law and international standards on consumer protection and media freedom.

No immediate comments from the named companies were available in connection with this specific complaint, though similar allegations have prompted defensive responses or ongoing regulatory engagements in other jurisdictions.