Musk's X sues advertisers for boycotting platform
SUBSCRIBE
JOBS
Custom Image
Go Back
4 months ago 02:42:27pm Television

Musk’s X sues advertisers for boycotting platform

New Delhi, 07-August-2024, By IBW Team

Musk

Elon Musk’s social media platform X on Tuesday sued a global advertising alliance and several major companies, including Mars and CVS Health, accusing them of unlawfully conspiring to boycott the site and causing it to lose revenue.

X filed the lawsuit in federal court in Texas against the World Federation of Advertisers, Unilever, and Danish renewable energy company Orsted, in addition to Mars and CVS Health, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit said advertisers, acting through a World Federation of Advertisers initiative called Global Alliance for Responsible Media, collectively withheld “billions of dollars in advertising revenue” from X, previously known as Twitter.

It said they acted against their economic self-interests in a conspiracy against the platform that violated U.S. antitrust law.

The World Federation of Advertisers, Unilever, Mars, CVS Health, and Orsted did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a statement on Tuesday about the lawsuit, X’s chief executive Linda Yaccarino said “People are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is constricted. No small group of people should monopolize what gets monetized.”

Ad revenue at X slumped for months after Musk bought the company in 2022. Some advertisers had been wary of ad spending under Musk amid questions and fears that their brands would appear next to harmful content that under prior owners might have been removed.

The advertising group launched the responsible media initiative in 2019 to “help the industry address the challenge of illegal or harmful content on digital media platforms and its monetization via advertising.”

Christine Bartholomew, an antitrust expert and professor at University at Buffalo’s law school told Reuters that lawsuits alleging unlawful boycotts can face a high bar.

X must show that there was an actual agreement to boycott joined by each advertiser, Bartholomew said. “Proving this requirement is no small hurdle” in cases where an agreement might be implicit, she said.

Even if the case succeeds, Bartholomew said, X cannot force companies to spend ad revenue on the platform.

The case was filed in the Northern District of Texas and assigned to U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor. The district has become a favored destination for conservatives suing to block Biden administration policies.

X said in its lawsuit that it has applied brand-safety standards that are comparable to those of its competitors and that “meet or exceed” measures specified by the Global Alliance for Responsible Media.

The lawsuit said X has become a “less effective competitor” in selling digital advertising.

X is seeking unspecified damages and a court order against any continued efforts to conspire to withhold ad dollars.

Video-sharing company Rumble filed a separate antitrust lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers on Tuesday.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

Our Events

  • img
    SatCab Symposium

    SatCab symposium organized by Aavishkar Media Group is an annual event. It's a well-informed event where we have a panel discussion on the current affairs and future forecasting on our industry.

  • img
    BCS
    Ratna Awards

    BCS Ratna Award organized by Aavishkar Media Group is an annual event. In this award function, a community of our industry is honored by receiving the award for the contribution of their work.

  • img
    Chetna Yatra

    Chetna Yatra organized by Aavishkar Media Group is an annual event. Held by Dr. AK Rastogi, Chairman of Aavishkar Media Group. Pilgrimage India in his car for connecting the people of our industry.

  • img
    Imaan India Sammaan

    Imaan India Samman is an event mobilized by Aavishkar Media Group, which was launched in 2012. Giving the award to the NGOs for giving their contribution to society.

Youtube Videos