This week, the advertising landscape saw billion dollar media shifts, a brewing agency feud, and government regulation in the works. In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss Disney and Universal suing Midjourney over AI copyright infringement and WhatsApp joining the legal action against the UK’s demand for Apple’s ‘back door’ data. We also look at DoorDash acquiring Symbiosys for $175M, PMG acquiring Momentum Commerce, and FERMÀT raising $45M to advance AI-powered commerce.

In a move shaking up the global media agency world, Mars has handed its USD$1.7 billion (£1.2bn) global media account to Publicis, ending a long relationship with WPP. The decision came after a high stakes pitch that included industry giants WPP, Publicis, Omnicom, and IPG. 

But WPP isn't going quietly. Earlier in the week, the agency giant went on the offensive, publicly accusing Publicis Groupe of trafficking low quality ad inventory. In a report circulated to clients and first reported by AdAge, WPP claims that Epsilon, Publicis’s supply-side platform, delivers ad placements with subpar viewability and engagement metrics. 

Amid the drama, WPP Media’s This Year Next Year 2025 mid-year forecast outlines a shifting global ad landscape, with user generated content set to surpass professional content in ad revenue for the first time. The report also predicts that retail media will claim 18% of global ad spend by 2030.

On the regulatory front, the UK government is taking a harder look at children’s digital habits. Ministers are reportedly considering new safety rules that would impose daily time limits on social media use for minors, including a two-hour cap per app and a 10:00 pm curfew.