WPP, Publicis Groupe and dentsu have agreed to proposed orders from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to settle allegations they unlawfully coordinated brand safety standards across the digital advertising market.
The FTC said the agency groups, alongside competitors Omnicom and Interpublic, used industry trade bodies to create a shared “brand safety floor” aimed at restricting advertising on platforms and publishers deemed to carry “misinformation”.
The FTC’s case against major agency groups
According to the regulator, the arrangement reduced competition in the market for ad-buying services by limiting how agencies applied brand safety decisions for clients.
The FTC alleged the agencies worked through the World Federation of Advertisers’ Global Alliance for Responsible Media and the American Association of Advertising Agencies’ Advertiser Protection Bureau to establish common standards.
Websites and platforms judged to fall below that threshold risked becoming ineligible for advertising revenue, the complaint said.
Andrew Ferguson, chairman of the FTC, said the conduct distorted both the advertising market and broader public debate.
“The ad agencies’ brand-safety conspiracy turned competition in the market for ad-buying services on its head,” Ferguson said.
He said the alleged agreement deprived advertisers of the benefits of having differentiated brand safety standards tailored to their own needs and inventory.
Ferguson also argued the conduct “distorted the marketplace of ideas” by discriminating against speech and viewpoints that fell below the agreed standard.
Political backdrop and impact on platforms
The case lands amid heightened scrutiny in the US over whether brand safety efforts have unfairly affected conservative publishers, platforms and commentators.
The FTC’s language is likely to be read in that context, particularly as Donald Trump’s administration continues to focus on alleged political bias against conservative voices.
Among the platforms referenced in the broader dispute is X, formerly Twitter, which lost advertisers after Elon Musk acquired the platform in 2022 and began loosening content moderation policies as part of a free speech agenda.
Many advertisers withdrew from Twitter at the time over brand safety concerns.
What happens next
The proposed orders still need approval from a federal judge before taking effect.
Omnicom, which is in the process of absorbing IPG, is subject to a similar FTC order.
The FTC said the settlements are designed to stop the alleged coordinated conduct and prevent it from happening again.
The regulator’s complaint follows a congressional investigation that found GARM had united major industry players to restrict advertising revenue to organisations that either challenged their views, published content they considered false, or refused to remove certain accounts.
GARM has since disbanded after facing legal action and political scrutiny in the US.