美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）将允许Publicis Groupe以22亿美元收购LiveRamp，但前提是这家数据公司必须继续以平等条款为该机构的竞争对手提供服务。周一宣布的拟议同意令将在五年内约束这两家公司。
The US Federal Trade Commission will let Publicis Groupe buy LiveRamp for $2.2bn, but only if the data company keeps serving the agency’s rivals on equal terms. The proposed consent order, announced on Monday, binds both companies for five years.
Publicis必须给予每一位LiveRamp客户“非歧视性的接入和支持，条款公平合理”。不得拒绝、降低、延迟或损害该接入。此外，还必须建立防火墙，使其无法查看或使用其他代理商客户通过LiveRamp运行的数据。
Publicis must give every LiveRamp customer “non-discriminatory access and support on fair and reasonable terms”. It may not deny, degrade, delay or impair that access. It must also build firewalls so it cannot see or use the data that other agencies’ clients run through LiveRamp.
Publicis在一份声明中表示，这些承诺是“由集团主动提出的”。预计将在年底前完成交易。
Publicis said in a statement that the commitments were “proactively proposed by the Groupe”. It expects to close the deal before the end of the year.
FTC为何担忧 LiveRamp销售数据连接服务。这些服务帮助广告主安全、保密地移动数字广告活动背后的数据。Publicis为品牌策划和购买媒体，因此其竞争对手的客户依赖一个即将归其所有的工具。
Why the FTC worried LiveRamp sells data connectivity services. They help advertisers move the data behind digital ad campaigns securely and confidentially. Publicis plans and buys media for brands, so its rivals’ clients rely on a tool it is about to own.
FTC的诉状称，该交易将赋予Publicis“能力和动机”将这些客户推向自己一方。它可能降低这些客户对LiveRamp的接入质量，直到他们更换代理商。FTC还表示，Publicis将获得关于其未服务客户的“竞争敏感数据”。
The FTC’s complaint says the deal would give Publicis “the ability and incentive” to push those clients its way. It could degrade their access to LiveRamp until they switched agencies. The FTC also said Publicis would gain access to “competitively sensitive data” about clients it does not serve.
该机构指控，该合并将削弱媒体代理服务和受众数据服务领域的竞争。这将违反《克莱顿法》第7条。
The agency alleged that the merger would weaken competition in media agency services and audience data services. That would breach Section 7 of the Clayton Act.
FTC竞争局首席副局长David Shaw表示：“通过要求LiveRamp继续像今天一样作为一个中立平台运营，该命令将确保Publicis不会在数字广告市场上获得相对于竞争对手的不公平优势。”
“By requiring LiveRamp to continue operating as it does today as a neutral platform, this order will ensure that Publicis does not gain an unfair advantage over its competitors in the digital advertising marketplace,” said David Shaw, principal deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.
审计师、调解与两票表决 一名独立审计师将在交易完成后的前两年每六个月检查一次合规情况。此后，审计频率降至每年一次，持续三年。任何LiveRamp客户也可以要求审计Publicis如何处理其数据。
Auditors, mediation and a vote of two An independent auditor will check compliance every six months for two years after the deal closes. After that, audits drop to once a year for three more years. Any LiveRamp customer can also ask for an audit of how Publicis treats its data.
Publicis不得对向联邦贸易委员会（FTC）提出担忧的客户进行报复。超过30天仍未解决的争议将提交第三方调解。
Publicis may not retaliate against clients who raise concerns with the FTC. Disputes still open after 30 days go to third-party mediation.
该命令属于行为矫正措施，不要求剥离资产。其力度轻于美国法官针对谷歌广告技术业务施加的补救措施，后者被要求接受为期六年的监管。
The order is a behavioural fix, with no divestiture. It is lighter than the remedy a US judge imposed on Google’s ad tech business, which got a monitor for six years.
委员会以2票赞成、0票反对通过接受该协议并征求公众意见，彭博社报道称，两票均来自其共和党籍委员。公众现有30天时间发表意见，随后FTC将决定是否使该命令正式生效。
The commission voted 2-0 to accept the agreement for public comment. Both votes came from its Republican commissioners, Bloomberg reported. The public now has 30 days to comment before the FTC decides whether to make the order final.
据彭博社报道，受消息影响，LiveRamp股价上涨2.4%。Publicis于5月达成该交易。此前，Nielsen于8月以21.5亿美元收购DoubleVerify。
LiveRamp shares rose 2.4% on the news, according to Bloomberg. Publicis agreed the deal in May. It follows Nielsen’s DoubleVerify deal, agreed in August for $2.15bn.
苹果正在挤压同一渠道 该命令出台之际，苹果正将LiveRamp等身份识别工具排除在Safari浏览器之外。苹果WebKit团队周一晚间发布了其屏蔽所谓“身份解析基础设施”的理由。据Business Insider报道，被屏蔽的域名包括LiveRamp、The Trade Desk、ID5、Permutive和Audigent。
Apple is squeezing the same pipes The order lands as Apple shuts identity tools like LiveRamp’s out of Safari. Apple’s WebKit team published its reasoning late on Monday for blocking what it calls identity resolution infrastructure. LiveRamp’s domains are among those blocked, Business Insider reported, along with The Trade Desk, ID5, Permutive and Audigent.
苹果已花费数年时间收紧Safari的隐私工具。最新举措意味着Publicis花费22亿美元收购的业务，其在iPhone上的触达范围正在缩小。
Apple has spent years tightening Safari’s privacy tools. The latest step means Publicis is paying $2.2bn for a business whose reach on iPhones is shrinking.
FTC也在广告市场其他领域施压。该委员会正就广告竞价定价问题起诉亚马逊。
The FTC is also pressing the ad market elsewhere. It is suing Amazon over its ad auction pricing.