🏖️ Warrant Is Now Free for PTO Season + The Zillow vs. Compass Showdown | Marketing’s Most Wanted

Hi Marketing Wranglers,

We hope you had a relaxing 4th of July without any Teams pings interrupting your BBQ. But if you work in compliance, you know that’s not usually how it goes.

That’s why we’re excited to announce that Warrant is now free. That’s right, anyone can sign up and use our AI-powered marketing compliance review tool. No demo, no procurement, no red tape.

Why did we do this? At Warrant, we believe you deserve a real vacation. Your out-of-office reply shouldn’t be the only thing standing between your team and a compliance mistake. While you’re offline, Warrant handles the first pass of every marketing review, flags issues, and keeps everything in one place for when you’re back.

Take the trip. We’ll take care of the rest (and even give you $500 to get you there).

See you on the beach,

Austin Carroll

CEO & Founder, Warrant

🚨 In This Week’s Issue

🏖️ Save Your Vacation with Warrant: Plus Win $500 While You’re At It

🏠 The Battle Over Listings: Compass Takes Zillow to Court

🏖️ Win $500 for your next (actually interruption-free) vacation

We’re giving away a $500 gift card to your choice of 🧳 Away or 🏌️ Callaway Golf — because you deserve a vacation without Slack pings and “pls approve” emails.

If compliance work has ever followed you to the beach, the airport lounge, or a long-awaited weekend off… this one’s for you.

How to Enter:

Sign up for a free(!) Warrant account.

Warrant takes care of the first round of your marketing compliance reviews for free, so you can focus on packing.

Offline? No problem. Our marketing compliance software catches issues, answers quick questions, and lines up everything for review when you’re back.

Want extra chances to win?

+1️⃣ Book a discovery call.

+1️⃣ Join our referral or partner program.

+🔟 Post your worst “work ruined my vacation” moment on LinkedIn or X with #SaveMyVacation and tag @Warrant. 

Enter to Win →

Entry deadline: 11:59 PM PT on August 8, 2025. Sweepstakes Rules

🏠The Battle Over Listings: Compass Takes Zillow to Court

A major lawsuit is making waves across the real estate and digital marketing industries.

Compass, one of the largest real estate brokerages in the United States, recently filed an antitrust lawsuit against Zillow.

At the center of the dispute is a controversial policy that directly affects how homes are marketed online and who controls access to those listings.

Inside the Lawsuit: A Fight for Marketing Power

Compass is challenging Zillow’s listing rule, which blocks any property from appearing on its site if it is listed elsewhere but not added to Zillow within 24 hours. Compass claims this rule forces sellers and agents to prioritize Zillow or risk losing access to the largest audience of homebuyers.

In the lawsuit, Compass accuses Zillow of using its dominance to push all listings onto its platform for monetization and control. From a marketing compliance standpoint, this raises concerns about competition, access, and whether digital platforms can limit independent marketing strategies through their policies.

Zillow’s Defense: Transparency or Control?

Zillow argues that its policy is designed to promote fairness and equal access. The company says the rule ensures all homebuyers have the same opportunity to see listings, preventing large brokerages from selectively sharing listings only with preferred clients.

The company also points out that its approach aligns with guidelines from the National Association of Realtors. According to Zillow, maximum exposure benefits sellers by helping them get better prices and faster sales, while also offering buyers a complete and transparent view of available homes.

Zillow’s position frames the policy as a step toward a more open marketplace rather than an attempt to stifle competition.

Private Listings Raise Compliance Questions

At the core of this dispute is a growing trend in real estate marketing. Some brokerages, including Compass, offer “Private Exclusive” listings that allow agents to promote homes privately before listing them publicly. These private listings can help attract high-end clients and give agents an advantage in competitive markets.

However, these tactics raise compliance concerns related to fair housing and consumer protection. Zillow’s policy blocks this strategy, arguing that private listings reduce transparency and create an unfair advantage for larger firms.

Compass sees this differently. The brokerage argues that Zillow’s ban unfairly limits the flexibility agents need to market properties in a way that best serves their clients.

Accusations of Market Collusion

The lawsuit does not stop with Zillow. Compass also accuses Redfin and eXp Realty of adopting similar policies. According to Compass, these companies worked together to restrict private listings and squeeze out independent strategies.

eXp Realty has firmly denied these allegations. CEO Leo Pareja called the lawsuit an act of desperation and said the company developed its policies independently to address the fast-changing real estate market. He also clarified that eXp is not a named defendant in the lawsuit and rejected any claims of collusion.

Why Marketing and Compliance Teams Are Watching Closely

This lawsuit is about far more than just property listings. It is a high-stakes clash over who controls digital marketing in real estate and how far compliance obligations should extend.

For marketing teams, the case signals the growing influence of dominant platforms over how properties are advertised. Zillow’s policy may force agents to rely on its platform and reduce their ability to run targeted or private marketing campaigns.

For compliance professionals, the lawsuit highlights the difficult balance between promoting transparency and allowing flexible business practices. Policies that encourage fair access to listings can sometimes clash with aggressive marketing strategies, and this case is a prime example of that tension.

The Bigger Picture

With home sales slowing, commission models under pressure, and regulatory reforms accelerating, the lines between marketing strategy and compliance responsibility are blurring faster than ever.

Whether Zillow’s policy is ultimately viewed as a necessary step toward fairness or an overreach into competitive practices will have wide-reaching implications for how homes are marketed online.

This case is more than a legal fight. It is a sign of how platform power, compliance rules, and marketing strategies are colliding in today’s digital-first housing market.

Learn more on New York Times.

💬 We’re launching a community for Marketing, Compliance, and Legal teams to stay up to date on regulatory changes—and help each other navigate them.

→ Join the community here.