Report from the New York Times
In Brief – The Federal Trade Commission has announced a consent decree with advertising companies Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group to allow their $13.5 billion merger after the companies agreed that they would not boycott media platforms because of the platforms’ political content. Omnicom agreed that the merged company will not work with other ad placement companies to direct clients to participate in boycotts of social media sites, magazines, TV networks or other publishing platforms, that it would not base its ad spending decisions on a media platform’s ideological view, or rely on third-party “exclusion lists” premised on political or ideological views to determine where it will direct advertising. However, the company’s advertiser clients can choose whether they want to advertise on a certain platform.
Context – No digital issue unites conservatives more firmly than the view that online content moderation has been slanted against conservative viewpoints, at least before Elon Musk bought Twitter. They see the content rules of large social media platforms as a reflection of a progressive monoculture pervading the largely-Bay Area digital companies, but also other key communications industries, including advertising, media, and entertainment. Further, progressive think tanks, advocacy groups, academic researchers, and government agencies highlight online content they find objectionable and work with sympathetic media outlets. The change in Twitter’s policies after Elon Musk acquired the platform was very disruptive and generated significant criticism of the platform and advertisers who used it. Government officials in Republican-led states, Congress, and Trump Administration regulatory agencies, have targeted participants in alleged boycotts of Twitter/X. One such group, Media Matters, is the subject of an FTC investigation, and has sued the agency arguing the probe violates the group’s First Amendment rights. Another similar Republican concern involves suspected ideological bank or investment firm boycotts, often called “debanking”, which allegedly targets businesses engaged in commerce disfavored by progressives.