By Jonathan Stempel
April 15 (Reuters) – Three large advertising agencies settled a U.S. Federal Trade Commission probe accusing them of violating antitrust law by conspiring to boycott online media platforms based on political content they didn’t like, the agency said on Wednesday.
Investigators accused Dentsu, Publicis and WPP of steering clients’ ads away from platforms featuring “disfavored” viewpoints, ostensibly to promote “brand safety” and target misinformation identified by left-leaning media watchdogs.
The FTC said websites containing such content risked becoming ineligible for ad placements because of collusion.
Its complaint filed in the Fort Worth, Texas, federal court cited alleged concerns about misinformation on Elon Musk’s X and the conservative website Breitbart.
“This unlawful collusion not only damaged our marketplace, but also distorted the marketplace of ideas by discriminating against speech and ideas that fell below the unlawfully agreed-upon floor,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement.
Wednesday’s settlements with the FTC and eight Republican-led U.S. states require Dentsu, Publicis and GroupM to stop alleged efforts to set common brand safety standards, or use “exclusion lists” when placing ads.
The ad agencies did not admit or deny wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Texas, Utah and West Virginia joined the settlements.
In a statement, Dentsu said it was committed to operating transparently, with integrity and in compliance with the law. WPP said separately it was committed to giving clients unbiased advice on where to place ads. Publicis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last June, the FTC approved Omnicom’s $13.5 billion purchase of rival Interpublic so long as the combined company did not conspire to steer ad dollars toward or away from platforms based on political content. The merger closed in November.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by Franklin Paul)
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