Axios

A wave of mega-mergers touching many facets of daily life, from T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint to CVS’s purchase of Aetna, will test the Justice Department's and Federal Trade Commission’s ability to examine smaller or more novel cases, antitrust experts say. More mergers are underway now than at any point since the recession. The total number of transactions reported to the federal government in fiscal year 2017, and not including cases given expedited approval or where the agencies couldn't legally pursue an investigation, is 82% higher than the number reported in 2010 and 55% higher than

People buying Google ads related to candidates in US federal elections will have to prove they are US citizens or lawful permanent residents beginning July 10. Under Google’s new rules, people or groups who want to advertise in elections will have to go through a process that includes producing a “government-issued ID” as well as other information, like a Federal Election Commission identification number and an IRS Employer Identification Number. Google says it aims to confirm that buyers are who they say they are and can legally participate in American elections.

To address allegations of bias, Facebook is bringing in two outside advisors — one to conduct a legal audit of its impact on underrepresented communities and communities of color, and another to advise the company on potential bias against conservative voices. 

The outcome of AT&T's fight with the Justice Department over its bid for Time Warner could shape the regulatory review of the long-anticipated union of Sprint and T-Mobile. 

Facebook is used to being the cool kid. But now it’s eating lunch alone: Companies are trying to figure out how to be as un-Facebook-like as possible.  Several tech companies, including Apple, IBM and Salesforce, have publicly differentiated themselves from Facebook. Now that lawmakers are getting more interested in regulating tech, other companies are considering launching their own campaigns to stay as far away as possible from Facebook's privacy drama. 

Facebook, despite years of outreach to conservatives, remains a punching bag for the right. Facebook’s lukewarm relationship with the right has complicated its search for DC allies to help fend off new privacy regulations. On April 24, the company announced it had replaced the head of its Washington office with Kevin Martin, former Republican Federal Communications Commission chairman. Facebook is bracing for another beating — this time, from some conservatives at a hearing featuring pro-Trump video stars Diamond and Silk, who say Facebook discriminated against their content.

A member of the Justice Department's criminal division and a special agent with the FBI attended Rubicon Project's digital advertising conference, Executive Exchange to speak about the future of ad fraud and crime. FBI Special Agent Evelina Aslanyan spoke at the off-the-record event to high-level executives in the advertising industry about how ad fraud represents a whole new world of crime for publishers and consumers. Alexander Mindlin, an assistant U.S. Attorney General at the DOJ's criminal division, was also in attendance.