The Trump administration in the US is looking at placing “unusual” conditions on the Omnicom takeover of IPG, preventing the merged entity boycotting platforms because of political content.
Multiple reports quoted insiders saying the conditions are aimed at stopping agencies refusing to place client advertisements on sites considered risky for some brands.
The New York Times said the restrictions discussed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are part of an effort by president Donald Trump's administration to root out what it seen as political bias against conservative voices and causes.
“The two people, who requested anonymity because the talks are confidential, said the terms of the merger review between the FTC and the two advertising companies were not final and could change," said the report.
Reuters reported as source as saying the deal is still under review by the FTC and no agreement has been finalised.
The takeover is subject to regulatory approvals globally, including competition watchdog the ACCC in Australia.
The marriage of rivals brings together the world’s third biggest advertising group, Omnicom, with the fourth, IPG, to form a company with 100,000 people and revenue of $25.6 billion (net revenue of $20 billion), with 57% of that in the US.
The FTC is investigating advertisers who pulled ad spend from Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, formerly Twitter.
The regulatory body, in a letter to Media Matters, demands documents relating to communication with a range of advertising bodies, including the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM).
The FTC’s chair, Andrew Ferguson, in comments made in December, believes any unlawful collusion between online platforms, and advertiser boycotts which “threaten competition” should be subject to prosecution.
This is all about the fallout from a brand safety initiative.
X has already taken legal action against the WFA and GARM, with the social media platform arguing it was deprived of billions of dollars in advertising revenue.
The WFA discontinued GARM activities following the legal challenge.
Advertisers had withdrawn their advertising, over concerns for brand safety, from then Twitter, now X, when Musk took the platform private in 2022 and said he would champion free speech by easing content restrictions.
X argues that, in a competitive market, each social media platform would set brand safety standards optimal for its users and that advertisers would select the platforms on which they advertise.
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