Hey friends,

We’re holding space for everyone during this tumultuous time. Please take care of yourself, your loved ones, and your neighbor — we could all use a little extra kindness right now.

Meanwhile, the wild world of adtech hasn’t slowed down — so I’m hopping in with a few key updates.

The Future of Ad Control

Reviews of the proposed merger between Omicom and Interpublic, two of the largest global ad agencies, are underway across multiple markets. Both the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have launched a formal review.

The U.S. review came as lawmakers across the political spectrum raised multiple concerns, ranging from:

• how, why, and by whom ad delivery is controlled
• how free speech extends not only to content creators, but to advertisers as well
• competitive viability of the advertising landscape
• big tech's influence on the digital economy

While the U.S. has just conditionally approved the deal, the UK’s decision is still pending, and other global regulators may step in. This merger is not a done deal.

The outcome could reshape the future of advertising, media access, and where brands feel confident spending their money.

Open Data = Cleaner Data

A cool new thing is happening in ad tech! The Trade Desk just launched OpenSincera, a free tool that anyone can use to take a peek under the hood of ad monetization, designed to surface deeper insights into how digital advertising performs and how healthy the supply chain is. Built on Sincera’s metadata, OpenSincera provides the entire ad industry with access to metrics such as ads-to-content ratio, page weight, ads-in-view, and refresh rates — all designed to enhance transparency and accountability across the ecosystem.

“We’re opening the door for everyone who wants to make advertising more transparent and efficient. The more data we can put into the hands of everyone in the advertising ecosystem the better it is for everyone and the open internet.” said Mike O’Sullivan, GM, Product, The Trade Desk.

OpenSincera is available at open.sincera.io, let us know what you think!

Horizon Media has taken a bold step and has made its Request-for-Proposal (RFP) and Request-for-Information (RFI) processes public. At a time where other agencies are doubling down on opaque practices such as principal trading and incentive-based buying, Horizon stands apart with their commitment to placing their clients’ best interests first.

Meta Revenue Programs May Have Violated EU Sanctions

Our friends at What To Fix released a new investigation suggesting that Meta Platforms Ireland continued monetization deals with Russia Today (RT), Sputnik (both government-controlled media outlets), and other EU-sanctioned entities well after the bans were in place. Meta has reportedly monetized RT and Sputnik via Facebook’s revenue programs since 2020. While the company initially demonetized these pages after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it quietly reinstated several Sputnik pages between October 2022 and October 2023 — despite ongoing EU sanctions.

The report warns that Meta’s ad systems may have funneled revenue to propaganda outlets, calling for urgent regulatory oversight.

Add This To Your Reading List

Ad tech aficionado and ex-Google employee, Ari Paparo, unpacks the DOJ antitrust trial and exposes Big Tech’s grip on digital ads in his new book, Yield: How Google Bought, Built, and Bullied Its Way to Advertising Dominance.

As CEO of Marketecture Media, Ari sat through three weeks of testimony in the DOJ’s antitrust case against Google — alongside our own COO Arielle Garcia. As Ari puts it, Yield isn’t only for industry insiders. It’s written for anyone curious about how Google came to dominate the digital ad ecosystem and what we lost along the way.

AI Is Hurting Communities — We're Joining Forces To Stop It

We proudly joined over 240 civil and human rights organizations in urging the Senate to remove a unprecedented provision (Sec. 43201) from  H.R.1 that would block states from regulating AI for the next decade. As written, the bill would strip states of their ability to protect communities from discrimination, invasive surveillance, and AI-driven consumer harms.

Why did we sign on to this letter? We signed on because vulnerable communities across America are already experiencing harm by unregulated, surveillance-based AI systems. States have stepped up with protections where the federal government has not. We believe innovation must be accountable, equitable, and rooted in public trust, and that starts with the ability to act locally to prevent harm.

We urge Congress to strike this provision from H.R.1. and instead work with civil society organizations on drafting policies on AI that protect everyone.

With kindness,

Iesha White, Director of Intelligence

ICYMI 🚀

Check My Ads launched their first policy platform — check it out!

Check My Ads in the Wild 🐾

📣 We’re calling on our Australian subscribers to share their comments on how to make the internet a safer place for kids. Your feedback will help shape Australia's Children’s Online Privacy Code — a crucial step towards protecting young people from harmful online practices like profiling, targeted advertising, and data misuse. Now’s the time to speak up. Link to provide comments, open until June 30th.

🔦 Check My Ads COO Arielle Garcia is urging regulators to dig into the Omnicom and Interpublic merger, warning it could entrench Big Tech’s power and hurt local media. Quoted in Mi3, she said: “It could further be to the detriment of publishers or smaller platforms that simply cannot afford to offer the same benefits to the agency.” Read more here!

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