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... As the FTC reviews a proposed merger between Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group, two large ad agencies, The New York Times reported yesterday that a "proposed consent decree would prevent the merged company from boycotting platforms because of their political content by refusing to place their clients' advertisements on them, according to two people briefed on the matter."

This is one of several moves the FTC has reportedly made to discourage ad boycotts that have riled conservatives. The FTC currently has only Republican commissioners because President Trump fired both Democrats, who allege in a lawsuit that the firings were illegal. Trump also declared sweeping executive power over the FTC and other agencies that were created to operate independently from the White House.

On Monday, the FTC sent civil investigative demands to Omnicom, Interpublic, and several other large ad agencies "as part of an investigation into whether advertising and advocacy groups violated antitrust laws by coordinating boycotts of certain sites, including Elon Musk's X," The Wall Street Journal reported.

The FTC also "demanded documents from Media Matters about possible coordination with other media watchdogs accused by Elon Musk of helping orchestrate advertiser boycotts of X," Reuters reported on May 22. X has a pending lawsuit against Media Matters and another against the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and several large corporations. Law professors have said that advertisers have a strong defense under the First Amendment, but Musk's firm reportedly cajoled some companies into buying ads by threatening to sue them. ...