In today’s Digest, we cover the CMA’s proposed search overhaul to curb Google’s dominance, the FTC’s intervention in the Omnicom-IPG merger, and the eSafety commissioner’s call to include YouTube in Australia’s under-16s social media ban. We also discuss the UK’s launch of a £380m plan to power creative industry growth.

CMA Proposes Search Overhaul to Curb Google’s Dominance

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has taken the first step toward addressing Google’s dominance in search, proposing that the tech giant be designated with ‘strategic market status’ in general search and search advertising under the Digital Markets regime.

The CMA has also published a roadmap of potential actions it could prioritise were Google to be designated. Early priorities include requiring choice screens for users to access different search providers, ensuring fair ranking principles for businesses appearing on Google search, more transparency and control for publishers whose content appears in search results, and portability of consumer search data to support innovation in new products and services.

If designated, the CMA would gain powers to impose targeted measures aimed at improving competition in search services. The CMA says it will adopt a “proportionate, pro-innovation” approach, and aims to ensure any interventions are clearly prioritised to support fair competition and consumer benefit in the UK digital economy.

FTC Intervenes in USD$13.5bn Omnicom-IPG Merger 

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has intervened in Omnicom’s USD$13.5bn (£10.6bn) acquisition of Interpublic Group IPG, citing concerns over potential anticompetitive coordination in the global advertising market. The regulator has accepted the merger, on the condition that the merged entity does not enter agreements with others to steer the direction of ad dollars from publishers based on political content.  

Omnicom and IPG rank as the third and fourth largest media buying firms in the US. The merger had prompted concerns that the combined entity could exert influence over ad spend allocation, potentially sidelining publishers based on political or ideological leanings.

eSafety Commissioner Urges Under-16s Ban Social Ban to Include YouTube; Platform Pushes Back

Australia’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has called on the Albanese government to reverse its decision to exempt YouTube from the country’s upcoming under-16s social media ban. The new legislation, set to take effect in December 2025, currently includes platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, but not YouTube.

In updated advice to communications minister Anika Wells, Inman Grant said the exclusion is inconsistent with the Act’s intent, arguing that YouTube poses similar risks as other social platforms, especially through features like stories, AI chatbots, and content streaks which can disproportionately affect younger users. She maintains that YouTube’s similarity in functionality and lack of sufficient evidence of its benefit to under-16s warrants its inclusion in the regulatory framework.

YouTube has however pushed back against calls for its inclusion in Australia’s upcoming social media restrictions for under-16s, accusing the eSafety Commissioner of disregarding public opinion and contradicting earlier guidance.

Responding to Julie Inman Grant’s recommendation to reverse the platform’s exemption, YouTube’s public policy and government relations manager, Rachel Lord, said: “Today’s position from the eSafety Commissioner represents inconsistent and contradictory advice, having previously flagged concerns the ban ‘may limit young people’s access to critical support’.” The video platform is pushing the idea that its service is about watching content, rather than social interaction.  

UK Launches £380M Plan to Power Creative Growth

The UK government has announced a £380m investment package aimed at supporting innovation, skills, regional growth and development, as well as access to finance across the country’s creative industries. The funding forms a central component of the new Creative Industries Sector Plan, released alongside the government’s Industrial Strategy on 23 June.

The sector plan sets out a 10-year vision to nearly double business investment in the creative industries to £31bn by 2035, up from £17bn. As part of the initiative, the government will deliver 2,000 new film and TV apprenticeships, and launch a Creative Content Exchange – a national digital marketplace for licensing and accessing cultural and creative assets.

Targeted at sub-sectors including film and TV, music, video games, performing and visual arts, and advertising, the plan focuses on generating economic growth in six regions outside London over the next three years. It also includes expanded support from the British Business Bank, via its £4bn Industrial Strategy Growth Capital, to help creative businesses scale operations and drive job creation.