Trump’s FTC announces merger condition that prohibits advertising boycotts

The proposed consent order, which is subject to a 30-day public comment period, would resolve an administrative complaint filed by the FTC against Omnicom and Interpublic. The FTC complaint alleges that the merger would violate US antitrust law and Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair methods of competition.

FTC complaint mirrors Musk’s claims

The FTC complaint doesn’t specifically mention Musk or X, but it focuses on an advertising industry group that X sued, specifically the World Federation of Advertisers. The FTC complaint mirrors X’s claims by alleging that a federation project labeled “legitimate political speech” as “misinformation” and “demonstrates the potential for future coordination between Media Buying Services providers.”

The World Federation of Advertisers denies wrongdoing in the case filed by X, but it shut down its Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) project that sought to define violent and obscene content to help advertisers create brand-safety guidelines. The FTC’s support of X’s claims about GARM will likely discourage advertisers from participating in any similar projects in the future.

By agreeing to the FTC’s demands, Omnicom avoids having to fight allegations that the merger will enable illegal coordination. Omnicom CEO John Wren said, “We are delighted that our transaction with Interpublic has cleared this significant regulatory hurdle… We continue to look forward to obtaining the remaining regulatory approvals and closing in the second half of this year.”

Ferguson said that “the advertising industry has been plagued by deliberate, coordinated efforts to steer ad revenue away from certain news organizations, media outlets, and social media networks.” He alleged that “industry groups and private organizations have publicly sought to use the chokepoint of the advertising industry to effect political or ideological goal.”

The consent order says the merged firm must not direct advertiser spending “based on the Media Publisher’s political or ideological viewpoints, or the political or ideological viewpoints expressed in content that the Media Publisher sells advertising to run alongside of.” The firm must not refuse advertisers’ requests to buy ads based on political or ideological disagreements with the publisher, and must not refuse to deal with advertisers “based on political or ideological viewpoints of that Advertiser.”