Advertising giants WPP, Publicis, and Dentsu on Wednesday agreed to an order from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and a handful of U.S. states over allegations that the groups illegally colluded since 2018 to implement brand safety standards that would direct advertisers’ budgets away from certain media platforms and publishers. Collusion on these brand safety standards led to an effective boycott of conservative media platforms, the government concluded.
“The ad agencies’ brand-safety conspiracy turned competition in the market for ad-buying services on its head,” FTC chair Andrew Ferguson said in a statement. “The antitrust laws guarantee participation in a market free from conduct, such as economic boycotts, that distort the fundamental competitive pressures that promote lower prices, higher quality products and increased innovation.”
