Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton achieved a landmark settlement with three major advertising agencies accused of colluding to suppress conservative viewpoints online by steering advertisers away from disfavored news outlets and commentators.
The agreement, announced Wednesday, was secured in coordination with the Federal Trade Commission and several other state attorneys general. It resolves part of a multistate antitrust lawsuit Paxton filed against several large ad agencies to combat what the state describes as unlawful media censorship that violated First Amendment rights.
The settlement involves Dentsu US, Inc., GroupM Worldwide LLC (d/b/a WPP Media), and Publicis, Inc.
Under its terms, the agencies agreed not to enter into or enforce any agreement that restricts their ability to do business with media publishers based on the publishers’ news, political, or social commentary content. They also agreed not to limit advertising spending based on political or ideological viewpoints or DEI commitments, and they will no longer rely on exclusion lists tied to those criteria.
The agencies will be subject to a court-ordered monitor to ensure compliance.
Paxton said the coordinated efforts had targeted prominent “conservative voices” and organizations, including Charlie Kirk, Glenn Beck, Steve Bannon, Fox News, and the social media platform X, by labeling their content “misinformation” and lobbying advertisers to withhold funding.
“Freedom of speech is foundational to American liberty,” Paxton said. “A coordinated group of woke, powerful individuals attempted to suppress that Constitutional right by manipulating ad agencies into sabotaging the reach, revenue, and credibility of conservative voices. This is a deeply disturbing violation of antitrust laws and our Constitution.
“This was an egregious attempt to control public opinion and silence those who speak out against the liberal elites and powerful corporations. I will continue to lead the fight against viewpoint suppression and protect the speech of Americans from corrupt manipulation.”
The underlying lawsuit alleges that as speech and journalism moved online over the past decade, organizations and corporations worked together to suppress “disfavored opinions” and reduce ad revenue for publishers hosting such content.
The settlements are subject to court approval and have been filed as proposed orders. The broader antitrust lawsuit against other agencies remains ongoing.
To read the lawsuit filing, click here.