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Elon Musk's X Sues Major Companies Over Alleged Boycott Impacting Ad Revenue. Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter, is suing Unilever, Mars, CVS Health, Orsted, and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), accusing them of unlawfully conspiring to boycott the platform, leading to significant advertising revenue losses, BBC News reports. The lawsuit claims these companies deprived X of "billions of dollars" in advertising revenue during a period in 2022, right after Musk acquired Twitter, citing concerns over harmful content management. Companies were wary of advertising on X due to concerns that Musk was not taking sufficient measures to remove harmful online content, leading to a sharp decline in advertising revenue. X CEO Linda Yaccarino emphasized the importance of a free marketplace of ideas, stating, "No small group of people should monopolise what gets monetised." Elon Musk expressed frustration over the boycott, tweeting, "We tried being nice for 2 years and got nothing but empty words. Now, it is war." The lawsuit alleges that the companies followed safety standards set by the WFA's Global Alliance for Responsible Media (Garm), which X claims unfairly targeted the platform. Former DOJ antitrust division head Bill Baer and Vanderbilt Professor Rebecca Haw Allensworth suggest the lawsuit is unlikely to succeed, citing First Amendment protections for politically motivated boycotts. X claims it has applied brand-safety standards comparable to its competitors but remains a "less effective competitor" in digital advertising due to the alleged conspiracy. The video-sharing company Rumble filed a similar lawsuit against the WFA, indicating a broader issue within the industry regarding advertising and content standards. X is pursuing unspecified damages and a court order to prevent continued efforts to withhold advertising spending, arguing that the boycott has significantly impacted its business.
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