The Federal Trade Commission is in discussions with several of the world’s largest advertising agencies—including WPP, Publicis Groupe, Dentsu, Havas and Horizon Media—about a possible settlement tied to an antitrust inquiry into whether ad dollars were steered away from certain online platforms, including Elon Musk’s X, for political or ideological reasons, according to The Wall Street Journal as summarized by The Daily Wire.
The FTC inquiry focuses on whether industry practices often described as “brand safety”—aimed at keeping ads from appearing next to material some advertisers deem harmful or controversial—crossed into unlawful coordination among competitors.
According to The Wall Street Journal, as relayed by The Daily Wire, investigators have examined whether large advertising agencies worked in concert, including potentially alongside advocacy organizations, to limit revenue to particular platforms by directing clients’ spending away from them.
The scrutiny intensified after Musk’s 2022 purchase of Twitter, later renamed X, when many advertisers reduced or paused spending amid concerns about changes to content moderation.
X has also pursued litigation accusing parts of the advertising industry of organizing an illegal boycott. In March 2026, U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle of the Northern District of Texas dismissed X’s antitrust case against the World Federation of Advertisers, finding that X failed to state a viable antitrust claim and did not adequately allege the type of competitive harm required under federal law.
A potential FTC settlement with the ad agencies would likely resemble a 2025 FTC consent order connected to Omnicom Group’s acquisition of Interpublic Group. That proposed order, announced by the FTC, would restrict Omnicom from coordinating with others to steer advertising away from publishers based on political or ideological viewpoint—while allowing advertisers to make individualized decisions about where their ads should or should not appear.
The talks described by The Daily Wire were ongoing as of April 14, 2026, and it was not clear whether the FTC and the agencies would reach a final agreement.
