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NewsGuard Sues FTC, Claims Omnicom/IPG Merger Condition Unconstitutional

MediaPost.com: MediaDailyNews · Wendy Davis · last updated

The FTC “is brazenly using its power not for any issue concerning trade or commerce, but rather to censor speech,” NewsGuard alleges in a complaint filed Friday in federal court. NewsGuard launched in 2020 to help people spot fake news online.

The Federal Trade Commission violated the First Amendment by prohibiting Omnicom from contracting with news ratings services as a condition of its merger with Interpublic Group, NewsGuard claims in a lawsuit filed Friday.

The FTC “is brazenly using its power not for any issue concerning trade or commerce, but rather to censor speech,” NewsGuard, which rates news sites for reliability, alleges in its complaint, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C.

“It has done so simply out of disagreement with NewsGuard’s First Amendment-protected journalistic judgments about the reliability of news sources,” the company adds.

Court TV founder Steven Brill and Wall Street Journal former publisher Gordon Crovitz launched NewsGuard six years ago to help people spot fake news online. At launch, the company was backed by investors led by Publicis Groupe.

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