Report from MediaPost
In Brief – The Federal Trade Commission announced antitrust settlement agreements with major advertising holding companies Dentsu, Publicis, and WPP to end what the regulator alleges was unlawful collusion in setting industry-wide “brand safety” standards involving ideological viewpoints. The agency claims the three companies collectively used third-party online content analysis firms such as NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index, as well as trade groups like the World Federation of Advertisers’ Global Alliance for Responsible Media and the American Association of Advertising Agencies, to implement group online content standards. Drawing on similar merger conditions imposed on ad companies Omnicom and Interpublic last year, the FTC said the new consent orders would halt coordinated conduct. The advertising holding companies agreed to the settlements without admitting wrongdoing. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson argued that coordination on “brand safety” distorted competition in the ad-buying market and harmed the “marketplace of ideas” by restricting ad revenue for content collectively downgraded. NewsGuard disputed the allegations and accused the FTC of political bias. The settlements awaits federal court approval.
Context – Most conservative leaders believe that the top digital companies are products of the Bay Area’s progressive monoculture and discriminated against them as part of a US-Western European policy ecosystem of like-minded think tanks, advocacy groups, academics, researchers, foundations, media outlets, and government agencies. Online content reviewers and researchers are not seen as neutral or unbiased. In January, the US State Department issued visa bans to leaders from several European online research organizations working to block online hate and disinformation. The FTC has been engaged in legal battles with NewsGuard and Media Matters for America over similar activity but dropped their legal challenges following agreements with the ad agencies to avoid coordinating online standards.