MFIA Clinic Urges FTC to Withdraw Proposed Consent Order on First Amendment Grounds
Acting on behalf of UC Davis law professors Vikram David Amar ’88 and Ashutosh Bhagwat, the Media Freedom & Information Access (MFIA) clinic at Yale Law School has filed public comments with the Federal Trade Commission explaining that conditions it has imposed in the proposed approval of an ad agency merger violate the First Amendment.
The comments, filed on July 28, object to conditions imposed in the FTC’s approval of a merger between the Omnicom Group Inc. and the Interpublic Group (IPG) that would restrict the advertising agencies from making viewpoint-based decisions about where to place advertisements.
The MFIA comments object, saying that the restriction is being “improperly premised on an alleged advertising boycott” of certain social media companies based on their politics that, even if it existed, “would be protected by the First Amendment.” It contends that the terms of the proposed order violate the First Amendment rights of Omnicom, IPG, their customers, and other advertising agencies.
The MFIA comments take no position on the competitive merits of the Omnicom–IPG merger or on broader market concentration, but objects to the attempt to impose viewpoint restrictions on the placement of advertisements. According to the comment, the FTC’s proposed order unconstitutionally prohibits advertising agencies from making decisions about where to place advertisements based on their political viewpoints, prevents them from advising clients fully and frankly about those choices, and chills the right of advertisers to receive such information. The filing further warns that the order would impermissibly compel speech by forcing agencies to place ads on platforms they or their clients may find objectionable and create a coercive threat to the advertising industry more broadly.
The comment concludes: “The proposed consent order violates the First Amendment because it infringes on the right to participate in boycotts, violates the Respondents’ right to speak and their clients’ right to receive that speech, and stands as a coercive threat to other advertising agencies.”
The comment opposes the FTC’s proposed consent order in In the Matter of Omnicom Group Inc. and The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (File No. 251 0049; 90 Fed. Reg. 27304; RIN 2025-11760; FTC-2025-0066).
The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School is a law student clinic dedicated to increasing government transparency, defending the essential work of news gatherers, and protecting freedom of expression through impact litigation, direct legal services, and policy work.
