Elon Musk’s social media platform X has filed a lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), Unilever, Mars, CVS Health, and Orsted, for allegedly boycotting the platform, resulting in substantial revenue losses for X, Reuters reports.
The lawsuit alleges that through the WFA’s Global Alliance for Responsible Media initiative, these advertisers collectively withheld billions of dollars in advertising revenue from X, violating US antitrust laws by acting against their economic interests. The lawsuit claims that this boycott has made X a less effective competitor in digital advertising. X asserts that it has adhered to brand-safety standards comparable to its competitors and is seeking unspecified damages and a court order to prevent any continued boycott efforts.
Legal experts note that proving an unlawful boycott requires demonstrating a clear agreement among advertisers, which can be challenging. Additionally, even if the case is successful, X cannot force companies to allocate their ad budgets to X.
The lawsuit comes as the platform experienced a decline in ad revenue following Musk’s acquisition of X in 2022, as advertisers were concerned about their brands appearing next to potentially harmful content.
