:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/INV_ElonMusk_GettyImages-2158244129-2c57805407fa4c518ba177a2d5a6dddf.jpg "X Sues Advertising Group as Musk Declares ‘War’")
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Key Takeaways
- X is suing the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), alleging the group conspired to commit an “illegal” boycott of ad spending on the social media platform.
- The WFA’s Global Alliance for Responsible Media requires members not to spend money on platforms that don’t comply with certain safety standards.
- X said just a month before the suit was filed that it was “excited” to resume its relationship with the WFA media alliance.
X owner Elon Musk has a message for advertisers: “We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war.”
The owner of X, formerly Twitter, posted that message Tuesday alongside an announcement from X Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Linda Yaccarino that the social media platform is suing a group of advertisers that belong to the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) global media alliance, including CVS Health (CVS), Unilever PLC (UL), Mars, and Orsted.
The suit alleges that the WFA conspired to “collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue” from X through the group’s Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) initiative, which requires members not to spend money on platforms that don’t comply with certain consumer safety standards.
Lawsuit Alleges Ad Boycott
The companies agreed to “abruptly and in lockstep, boycott Twitter by discontinuing entirely or substantially reducing their previously substantial advertising purchases from Twitter,” the lawsuit alleges. It also cites a July 10 U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee report that accused the WFA of “collusive conduct to demonetize disfavored content.”
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, comes just a month after X announced that it had reinstated its relationship with GARM.