X sues advertisers claiming ‘systemic illegal boycott’

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (CN) — Elon Musk's social media platform X sued a group of advertisers Tuesday, claiming they illegally conspired to boycott the platform in violation of antitrust laws.

The company formerly known as Twitter filed the lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas against the World Federation of Advertisers and member companies Unilver, Mars, CVS Health and Orsted. It claims a "massive advertiser boycott" cost the company billions of dollars in revenue.

X accused the WFA's Global Alliance for Responsible Media initiative of coordinating an advertising boycott after Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and made major changes to the platform's staff and policies.

The platform wants the judge to find the WFA's actions violated the law and to award damages. X is represented by John Sullivan and Jace Yarbrough of S L Law in Cedar Hill, Texas.

The WFA, Unilver, Mars, CVS Health and Orsted did not respond to requests for comment.

In a post on X about the lawsuit, Musk said the social media platform "tried being nice for two years and got nothing but empty words," adding, "Now, it is war."

In its lawsuit, X references a report released by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee last month, which concluded that “the extent to which (the Global Alliance for Responsible Media) has organized its trade association and coordinates actions that rob consumers of choices is likely illegal under the antitrust laws and threatens fundamental American freedoms.”

X CEO Linda Yaccarino said in a video statement that the group “organized a systematic illegal boycott” against X.

“That puts your global town square, the one place that you can express yourself freely and openly, at long-term risk.” Yaccarino said. “People are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is constricted. No small group of people should be able to monopolize what gets monetized.”

X has had fraught relationship with advertisers since Musk purchased the platform. Last year, the company sued the left-leaning watchdog group Media Matters after a report by the organization on antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on X led to a more recent exodus of advertisers.

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