As featured in The New York Times, read full article here.
X (formerly Twitter) has initiated a federal antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and several of its prominent members, including CVS Health, Mars, Orsted, and Unilever. The lawsuit accuses GARM of leveraging its influence to unfairly target X, resulting in a boycott by advertisers.
Filed in a Texas federal court, the lawsuit asserts that GARM conspired with major brands to collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue owed to X following Elon Musk’s acquisition in 2022.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino is calling for industry reform to prevent similar actions in the future.
“To the extent that Elon hadn’t already burned all bridges and ties with the entire advertising community, I don’t see how this will get any advertisers to come back to X. It’s a last-ditch effort to force brands who don’t want to be in the crosshairs of this kind of legal action to return to the platform.”
Ruben Schreurs, CEO at Ebiquity
Many prominent brands decided to leave X or significantly reduce their advertising budgets after Musk reinstated hundreds of previously banned accounts. This action was accompanied by reports from researchers indicating a rise in hate speech and misinformation on the platform.
To advertisers, the claims in the lawsuit appear “so far-fetched and frankly ridiculous”.
Ruben Schreurs, chief strategy officer at Ebiquity
The Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), established by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) in 2019, sets brand safety standards for digital advertisers. This lawsuit is part of a broader movement by conservative groups against GARM. It highlights that the boycott has drastically reduced X’s advertising revenue, which has dropped by half since Musk’s takeover in 2022.
