FTC Announces Settlement Barring Ad Groups from Colluding on Boycotts
The FTC settled with major ad agencies to prevent collusion aimed at boycotting platforms based on political viewpoints or 'misinformation'.Summary
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement barring major advertising firms like WPP, Publicis, and Dentus from colluding to boycott platforms based on “disfavored political viewpoints.” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson stated that this “brand-safety conspiracy” distorted competition and discriminated against speech. The FTC’s complaint alleges that these firms, through trade associations like the World Federation of Advertisers’ Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies’ Advertiser Protection Bureau (APB), established a “Brand Safety Floor” to target “misinformation.”
The proposed order would prevent the firms from setting biased brand safety standards or restricting advertising based on political criteria. This action follows a similar announcement in June 2025 regarding a merger between advertising giants, where advertisers agreed not to collude or discriminate based on political views. Ferguson highlighted past instances of GARM dismissing free speech principles and internal discussions about potentially blocking Breitbart News for its ideology, only justifying it after the outlet allegedly spread “blatant misinformation.”
Ferguson emphasized that GARM aimed to “destroy publishers of content which they disapproved,” and the settlement aims to restore competition to the digital news ecosystem and prevent future collusive practices that could stifle the marketplace of ideas.
(Source：Brietbart)