- Date
- October 19, 2026
- Kind
- Regulatory change
- Significance
- High
On October 19, 2026 the FTC voted 2-0 (Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Mark Meador) to accept a proposed consent order allowing Publicis Groupe to buy LiveRamp Holdings. A 30-day public comment period follows before the order is final. The FTC cites $2.2 billion; PPC Land’s May reporting put the equity value at $2.5 billion ($38.50 a share).
The conditions
- LiveRamp must serve all US customers on neutral, non-discriminatory terms, with “commercially neutral provider” as the guiding principle.
- Publicis may not access or use LiveRamp customer data, including to train AI models.
- Independent SOC-2 audits every six months for two years after closing, then annually; customers may audit once a year at their own expense.
- Customer contracts need an addendum and notice within 60 days; the order lasts five years from issuance.
Not stated
The closing date, the end of the comment period and any monitor trustee.
Why it matters
This is our analysis. The remedy is behavioural, not a divestiture, so its value depends on audits and on customers noticing breaches. It sets a template for neutrality rules when an agency group owns data infrastructure that its rivals use.
What happened next
The proposed order is open for 30 days of public comment before it becomes final. The closing date has not been stated.