The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on October 19, 2026, accepted for public comment a proposed settlement that would impose five years of data-access safeguards on Publicis Groupe’s planned $2.2 billion acquisition of LiveRamp.
Under the proposed consent order, the companies would have to preserve nondiscriminatory access to LiveRamp’s standalone services, maintain data firewalls and support connections with third-party advertising and measurement platforms.
The draft order says customers could use those standalone services without buying Publicis technology or services. It would restrict Publicis’s access to customers’ confidential information, with specified exceptions including customer authorization and necessary administrative functions. Independent compliance audits would also be required.
LiveRamp provides infrastructure used to plan, place and measure digital advertising, according to the agency’s analysis. The safeguards address access to that infrastructure and protection of customer information; they do not establish a change in broadcasters’ advertising revenue.
The commission voted 2-0 to accept the consent agreement for a 30-day public-comment period. The proposed order is not final: the agency can modify it, withdraw from the agreement or make the order final after considering comments.
Publicis welcomed the agreement and said it still expects the acquisition to close before the end of 2026. That remains a company forecast, not confirmation of a completed transaction.