On Monday, Andrew Ferguson, the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), revealed that an advertising giant has agreed not to engage in conspiracy or bias based on political or ideological viewpoints as part of the FTC’s approval for a merger involving two major advertising companies.
The FTC highlighted that the two firms have established members of an initiative known as Garm, which conspired with right-leaning outlets to create blacklists that included Breitbart News, Fox News, and The Daily Wire.
Ferguson remarked that the FTC has secured a significant win in the merger of Omnicom and IPG, which together represent about a third of the world’s leading advertising firms. As part of the deal, they agreed to refrain from discriminating against advertising based on political views.
The FTC Chairman indicated a history of collusion within the advertising market, which could heighten risks post-merger. This situation is quite unique in terms of applying necessary behavioral remedies.
He elaborated:
Specifically, the directives and agreements from Omnicom and IPG prevent any actions that would lead to discriminatory advertising from publishers based on politics or ideology. Coordinated efforts by ad agencies against publishers they oppose politically would essentially amount to a collective agreement to not compete. However, pursuing legal action can be lengthy. Today’s agreements effectively eliminate the chances of expensive litigation and ensure compliance with antitrust laws following the merger.
Both companies have committed to not implementing changes that might prevent advertising funds from reaching publishers based on political views, and they will cooperate with the FTC’s investigation into previous collusion allegations while undergoing regular compliance reviews.
The FTC is also looking into whether influential advertising groups have breached antitrust regulations by coordinating boycotts among advertisers with political motives.
Ferguson pointed out that Garm, formed by Omnicom and IPG, once characterized the notion of free speech as a warped interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, created over 200 years ago by a select few.
He stated that Congressional investigations found Garm worked to unify powerful industry players, stifling advertising revenues for those who opposed them, leading to Garm’s eventual disbandment.
A House Judiciary Committee Report revealed that Garm had considered placing conservative outlets like Breitbart News, Daily Wire, and Fox News on an exclusion list for advertisements.
John Montgomery, previously the global brand safety vice president, described in correspondence the controversies surrounding Breitbart’s inclusion on the blacklist, sharing that while their ideology was often disdained, justifying their exclusion was challenging.
In his statement, Ferguson claimed Garm aimed to undermine publishers with content they disagreed with.
He insisted that the terms of the merger will help alleviate the FTC’s worries about potential collusion driven by political motivations in the future.
“No one is obliged to be associated with content they find undesirable. Actions deemed inappropriate are limited to practices that harm competition,” he explained.
Ferguson concluded by stating that both Omnicom and IPG are now dedicated to preventing such industry practices. This agreement should help lower risks in the consolidated advertising market. “We trust these merger conditions will inspire other ad companies to embrace similar policies, reducing the temptation to conspire against consumers, independent reporters, and smaller media outlets,” he stated.
