Advertising news today: DOJ probe clears ad companies, Snap subpoenaed

John
Wren is chairman, president and CEO of Omnicom
Group
Spencer Platt/Getty
Images

After a two-year investigation from the Department of Justice
into the production processes of advertising agencies, five of
the world’s biggest holding companies have reportedly been
cleared.

Federal prosecutors were specifically looking into
“non-transparent” practices like receiving rebates from media
outlets. Five holding companies had received subpoenas as part of
the investigation: WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, Interpublic Group, and
MDC Partners.

Click here to read more about the
investigation.

In other news:

Snap reportedly subpoenaed by Justice Department and SEC
for information on IPO disclosures. The federal
inquiries follow an ongoing shareholder lawsuit in which
investors allege that Snap misled the public about how
competition from Facebook’s Instagram service had affected the
company’s growth.

A LinkedIn exec explains how the company will hit $2
billion in ad revenue this year, and why it’s betting big on
video. The platform has redesigned brand pages
with more tools and analytics to help brands build a following on
the platform.

Amazon will benefit from massive tax breaks from both HQ2
cities. The company will receive $1.5 billion
in tax breaks from New York City, and up
to $550 million in cash grants from Arlington,
Virginia.

Over 600,000 Americans followed Instagram accounts that are now
believed to be run by Russian trolls. Facebook
said it has now taken down 99 Instagram accounts, 36 Facebook
accounts, and 6 Facebook Pages.

Facebook is shutting down its connected-TV ad network,
Digiday reports. Facebook’s connected-TV advertising
ambitions appear to have been thwarted by a few factors,
including the formation of new walled gardens within the
connected-TV environment.