What you need to know in advertising today
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.