Articles Tagged: Advertising

 

FTC and States Unseal Key Allegations in Amazon Ad-Auction Antitrust Fight

The Federal Trade Commission and 22 state attorneys general have publicly released additional, previously redacted allegations in their enforcement case against Amazon, offering a more detailed look at claims that the company manipulated advertising auctions and drove up prices paid by advertisers. The newly visible allegations sharpen the factual contours of one of the most consequential antitrust and unfair-practices cases now pending against a major technology platform.

According to the agencies, Amazon’s ad-auction practices did more than affect internal marketplace mechanics: they allegedly distorted pricing in a way that harmed advertisers purchasing access to consumers on Amazon’s platform.

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FTC’s Ad-Agency Boycott Settlement Puts Brand-Safety Coordination Under Antitrust Scrutiny

The Federal Trade Commission has announced settlements with three of the world’s largest advertising agencies—WPP, Publicis, and Dentsu—over allegations that they coordinated brand-safety standards in a way that excluded or disadvantaged media outlets based on political content. The case, filed in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, is a significant signal that the FTC is willing to treat certain forms of industrywide content-related coordination as a competition problem, not merely a speech or platform-governance dispute.

According to the FTC, the agencies’ alleged conduct effectively created a boycott by steering advertising dollars away from publishers or platforms deemed politically objectionable under shared standards.

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