Name: Elon Musk's X Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Advertisers Over 'Massive' Boycott
Uploaded: 2024-08-08T03:12:54.000Z
Description: Elon Musk's X social media platform <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25033227/x-v-garm.pdf">filed</a> an antitrust lawsuit against Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a cross-industry organization that includes the likes of Mastercard, Protcer & Gamble, and Unilever, accusing the group of a "massive advertiser boycott" against X.

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

NTD Plus

News

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

Smart Spending: How to Save on Summer Travel

UAE Suffered More Iranian Missiles Than Israel, Paving Way for Iron Dome: Analyst

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

Washington Event to Rededicate US as ‘One Nation Under God’

Best-Selling Author Concerned Christians May Be Next in China’s State-Sanctioned Organ Trade

Jason Perry is an Army veteran and NTD's National Security Correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Jason primarily covers border security, national defense, foreign wars, and veterans' issues.

Jason Perry

Pentagon Paves the Way to Buy 10,000 Containerized Missiles

US Reports No Hantavirus Cases From Cruise Outbreak

Juliette Fairley is a freelance reporter for NTD and The Epoch Times and a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Born in Chateauroux, France, and raised outside of Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Juliette is a well-adjusted military brat. She has written for many publications across the country. Send Juliette story ideas at JulietteFairley@gmail.com

Juliette Fairley

Daniel Monaghan is a reporter for NTD News covering culture, social issues, and education. He holds a BA in Political Science and Government.

Daniel Monaghan

US News

Politics

Executive Branch

Rubio: China is ‘Top Geopolitical Challenge’

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

Jury Awards $49.5 Million to Family of Woman Killed in 2019 Boeing Max Crash

Andrew Moran has been writing about business, economics, and finance for more than a decade. He is the author of "The War on Cash."

Andrew Moran

China News

Trump Departs China After 2-Day Talks With Xi

Haika Mrema

Medical Plane Crash in New Mexico Mountains Kills 4, Sparks Wildfire

Accommodating, Enabling China’s Regime a Failed Strategy: China Expert

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 15)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.

Kevin Hogan

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 12)

President Trump Leaves for China Today; Calif. Mayor to Plead Guilty to Acting as CCP Agent | NTD Good Morning (May 12)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 5)

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

Health News

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

Elon Musk's X social media platform <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25033227/x-v-garm.pdf">filed</a> an antitrust lawsuit against Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a cross-industry organization that includes the likes of Mastercard, Protcer & Gamble, and Unilever, accusing the group of a "massive advertiser boycott" against X.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino also <a href="https://x.com/lindayaX/status/1820838134470328676">confirmed</a> Tuesday in an open letter to advertisers that X filed a complaint against GARM, the World Federation of Advertisers, and members such as Unilever, Mars, Orsted, and CVS Health. The suit was filed in a federal court in Texas.

"This is not a decision we took lightly, but it is a direct consequence of their actions," she wrote. "The illegal behavior of these organizations and their executives cost X billions of dollars. Since arriving at X, I made it my mission to continue to build a platform where people, brands and advertisers can thrive in our unique, dynamic and safe environment."

X, called Twitter before it was rebranded by Musk, filed the lawsuit after it <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/07/2024-07-10-GARMs-Harm-How-the-Worlds-Biggest-Brands-Seek-to-Control-Online-Speech.pdf">reviewed</a> a recent investigation carried out by the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee that found GARM allegedly "organized boycotts and used other indirect tactics to target disfavored platforms, content creators, and news organizations in an effort to demonetize and, in effect, limit certain choices for consumers."

The Judiciary Committee also held a hearing last month that included testimony from Daily Wire commentator Ben Shapiro, and said the committee is trying to determine whether current U.S. laws are “sufficient to deter anticompetitive collusion in online advertising.”

The CEO said X has determined GARM's directive cost the social media platform billions of dollars in lost advertising revenue. Musk has often been critical of GARM and certain advertisers since he took over the company in late 2022.

Musk also wrote about the lawsuit on his platform on Tuesday, describing his relationship with advertisers as "a war" after "getting nothing but empty words" two years after he took over the company.

GARM and individual members named in the lawsuit have not responded to the lawsuit.

The Epoch Times has contacted GARM and the World Federation of Advertisers, an arm of the Davos, Switzerland-based World Economic Forum, for comment. GARM is commissioned by the World Federation of Advertisers, according to its website.

In response to the House Judiciary claims, GARM said in a statement in July that the committee's report "does not include the 168-page transcribed interview which effectively clarifies questions on GARM’s adherence to competition law policy and practices, that GARM is a voluntary organization, and that guidance from GARM is non-binding."

"We remain steadfast in the conviction that GARM enhances transparency in previously opaque practices relative to ad placements in digital social media," GARM <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/07/elon-musk-calls-for-criminal-prosecution-of-x-ad-boycott-perpetrators/">told</a> news outlets at the time.

"GARM creates voluntary industry standards on brand safety and suitability which media sellers and ad tech companies can voluntarily adopt, adapt or reject."

Musk, meanwhile, has long had an adversarial relationship with advertisers on his social media platform. In 2023, during a New York Times event, he criticized major brands for trying to "blackmail" him and told them "don't advertise." He also used an expletive multiple times before he appeared to single out Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, which had pulled advertising from X.

In June, Musk softened his tone during an advertising event in Cannes, France. He said that his previous comments were directed at "advertisers as a whole" and that he was making a point about free speech.

“What is not cool is insisting that there can be no content they disagree with on the platform," he noted, referring to major brands.

In a <a href="https://corp.rumble.com/blog/rumble-joins-x-to-sue-advertising-cartel-that-allegedly-conspired-to-withhold-digital-advertising-revenue/">news release</a>, streaming platform Rumble announced that it, too, will join the X lawsuit against GARM and the companies, similarly accusing them of violating antitrust laws.

“The brand safety standards set by advertisers and their ad agencies should succeed or fail in the marketplace on their own merits and not through the coercive exercise of market power,” Rumble said in its complaint.

“All of this illegal conduct is done at the expense of platforms, content creators, and their users, as well as the agencies’ own advertiser clients who pay more for ads as a result of their collusion.”

According to the WEF's <a href="https://wfanet.org/knowledge/item/2019/11/27/WFA-led-Global-Alliance-for-Responsible-Media-scales-up-efforts-through-the-World-Economic-Forum" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">website</a>, GARM, which was created in 2019, is designed to curb the proliferation of "dangerous, hateful, disruptive and fake content online."

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/elon-musks-x-files-antitrust-lawsuit-against-advertisers-over-massive-boycott-5700643">The Epoch Times</a></em>

Latest

Science &amp; Tech

Elon Musk

Videos

Business News

04_Top Stories

Premium Picks

Latest Clips

boycott

Management

antitrust lawsuit

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. 

Jack Phillips

Don Ma is an anchor and senior business correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Don is the anchor and producer of NTD's "Business Matters," which airs weekdays at 4:30 pm ET.

Don Ma

Courts

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.