Nigeria's Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has proposed rules that would hold businesses accountable for marketing messages, claims and consumer engagement produced by artificial intelligence and other automated systems. The penalty ceiling is steep: up to N100 million or 1% of the previous year's turnover, whichever is greater.

The provisions sit inside the draft Sales Promotion Regulations, 2026, which the Commission released on September 30, 2026. The framework sets requirements for using AI, machine learning and automated systems in promotions, marketing communications and consumer engagement directed at Nigerian consumers.

What businesses would have to do

Under the proposal, companies deploying AI or automated tools for marketing must register that use with the FCCPC. AI-generated or automated promotional content must be clearly identifiable as such. The rules extend to emerging tools including AI chatbots, virtual influencers and automated messaging systems.

The core liability shift is blunt. Companies would remain responsible for representations and claims produced by the technologies they deploy. A business could not defend itself by pointing out that a message, recommendation or promotional decision came from an automated system, where that output is misleading, discriminatory or otherwise harmful to consumers.

The draft also pushes consumer control. Businesses using AI-driven communications would have to give consumers an opt-out option, and automated systems would need to comply with requirements against manipulation, misinformation and exploitation of consumer data or behavioural tendencies.

The penalty schedule

The sanctions scale by offender type. A corporate entity faces an administrative penalty of up to N100 million or 1% of its previous year's turnover, whichever is greater. A natural person faces up to N50 million. Additional penalties of up to N10 million apply to specified breaches, including failure to deliver promised promotional prizes or making false statements in applications.

Why now

The proposal lands as AI tools spread quickly across Nigeria's business environment — marketing, customer service, digital advertising and online commerce. That expansion has raised a regulatory question regulators everywhere are wrestling with: who bears responsibility when technology generates inaccurate claims or influences consumer decisions?

The FCCPC's move also fits into a wider conversation around Nigeria's digital economy, where competition, consumer protection, data governance and AI regulation increasingly overlap. In July, the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy directed regulators to hold to the regulatory status quo on internet platforms and other cross-cutting digital issues until a harmonised national policy and governance framework is developed.

Earlier in the year, the FCCPC had exposed broader consumer-protection regulations covering fair dealing and marketing standards, advertising substantiation, commercial influence disclosures and protections for vulnerable consumers. The Commission has previously established enforcement frameworks under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, including its Administrative Penalties Regulations.

The Meta, Google and X investigation

The draft rules arrive amid wider scrutiny of global technology companies and AI platforms operating in Nigeria. In July, the FCCPC opened an investigation into allegations involving Meta, Google, X and certain generative AI platforms, including claims of anti-competitive conduct and unauthorised use of Nigerian media content in AI development. The Commission stressed the investigation does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing.

What it means in practice

These remain proposals, not final enforcement rules. If implemented, they would force businesses to review how they use generative AI for advertising, customer engagement, automated recommendations and promotional campaigns. Companies would likely need human oversight of AI-generated commercial content and the ability to demonstrate compliance with consumer-protection requirements.

For operators running AI-driven marketing at Nigerian consumers, the compliance bill is worth calculating now: registration, content labelling, opt-out mechanisms, human review — or a fine schedule that starts at eight figures.