Ad firms settle FTC anti-trust probe over media boycott

Ad firms Dentsu, Publicis, and WPP were part of the settlement, which forbids the use of "exclusion lists."

By Ben Whedon

Published: April 15, 2026 3:37pm

A trio of major advertising firms on Wednesday settled an anti-trust probe from the Federal Trade Comission that had accused them of organizing boycotts of digital media that produced disfavored political content.

“This unlawful collusion not only damaged our marketplace, but also distorted the marketplace of ideas by discriminating against speech and ideas that fell below the unlawfully agreed-upon floor," FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said, according to Reuters.

Ad firms Dentsu, Publicis, and WPP were part of the settlement, which forbids the use of "exclusion lists" and for ad placement and requires the firms to cease efforts to create common brand safety standards. Social media platform X and the conservative Breitbart News featured heavily in the probe.

X faced a major advertising boycott in 2023 prompted by a Media Matters for America article that highlighted the platform's pairing of ads with racially charged posts.

X owner Elon Musk later sued Media Matters, alleging that they had manipulated the algorithm to produce the desired result in a deliberate smear attempt.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.