US Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) launched a probe into the merger of advertising giants Omnicom and Interpublic Group over their ties to the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and its defunct Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) initiative. The House Judiciary Committee chairman sent letters to the CEOs of both companies, demanding they preserve documents related to the WFA and GARM and provide information to the House.
The committee also ordered them to reveal precautions taken to avoid repeating GARM’s anticompetitive history and disclose any politically partisan “brand safety” initiatives they are involved with. An antitrust case could be made if federal officials prove that rating agencies colluded to skew their grades to appease left-leaning ad executives. The merger would create the world's largest ad agency with over 100,000 employees and nearly $25 billion in yearly revenue. The committee is investigating whether this merger would crush competition, particularly among conservative voices, as it earlier this year found GARM did