Federal Trade Commission Responds To Us, Orders Tech Merger Without Censorship
"Public Advocate asked thousands of supporters to demand an end to censorship of conservatives and it seems the Federal Trade Commission is following through on our demands and those of all conservatives seeking First Amendment protection, " says Eugene Delgaudio, president of Public Advocate.
The FTC has approved Omnicom Group's acquisition of IPG after the advertising giants agreed not to collude on politically motivated ad boycotts to censor conservative viewpoints.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the FTC has given the green light to Omnicom Group's proposed acquisition of rival Interpublic Group (IPG). The approval comes after the two advertising giants pledged not to collude on politically motivated ad boycotts, addressing concerns raised by the commission about the advertising industry's censorship of conservatives.
The all-stock deal, announced in December, values IPG at around $13 billion and will create the world's largest advertising company with approximately $25 billion in net revenue, based on 2024 figures. While executives at Omnicom and IPG had expressed confidence in the government's approval, citing a more business-friendly incoming Trump administration, the FTC had requested additional information from the companies in March, signaling a review of the deal.
The commission's investigation also extended to whether advertising companies and leftist advocacy groups violated antitrust laws by steering ad spending away from platforms like Elon Musk's X. In the agreement announced Monday, Omnicom and IPG committed not to collude with other firms to move advertising dollars away from media outlets based on their perceived conservative political or ideological alignment. The agreement does not include any admission of violations by either company.