The U.S. Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") has accepted the proposed consent order resolving concerns related to the acquisition of The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. ("IPG") by Omnicom Group Inc. ("Omnicom"). The FTC found that the transaction could give rise to coordinated effects in the media buying services sector by enabling political or ideological influence over advertising decisions, thereby weakening competition between media publishers and advertisers.
Under the Order, Omnicom—together with IPG and the entities it will control following the closing of the acquisition—is prohibited from engaging in any conduct within the U.S. media buying services market that involves excluding media publishers, redirecting advertising spend, or refusing advertiser requests based on political or ideological views or content. The Order further prohibits the creation, application, or encouragement of "exclusion lists" or similar tools that discriminate between publishers on such grounds, and bars Omnicom from facilitating such conduct through third parties.
However, exclusion lists developed at the explicit instruction of an individual advertiser are exempted from this prohibition; yet such lists may not be shared, disclosed, or reused for the benefit of other advertisers. In addition, if any discriminatory practices are in place at the time of closing, Omnicom is required to terminate immediately. Finally, Omnicom is obliged to submit annual compliance reports to the FTC, retain relevant documents for five years, provide them upon request, and ensure full access for the FTC staff during compliance reviews.
(FTC – 23.06.2025)
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