X files antitrust lawsuit against advertisers for ‘illegal boycott’

X is suing a group of major advertisers over allegations that they carried out an “illegal boycott” against the platform formerly known as Twitter. In a lawsuit filed on TuesdayX claims that Unilever, Mars, CVS, Ørsted and dozens of other brands conspired to “collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue” through an industry initiative by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA).

To join the WFA initiative, called the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), companies must agree to withhold advertising from social platforms that do not comply with the organization’s security standards. X alleges that GARM “organized an advertiser boycott of Twitter” to coerce the company into following the initiative’s security standards. The action is being filed despite X announcing he was “excited” to return to GARM last month.

“The evidence and facts are on our side,” Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X said in a video posted on X. “They conspired to boycott X, which threatens our ability to prosper in the future. This puts your global Town Square – the only place where you can express yourself freely and openly – at risk in the long term.”

A separate post from Elon Musk said it “strongly encourages[s] any company that has been systematically boycotted by advertisers to take legal action” as there could also be “criminal liability” under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act – a law that aims to crack down on organized crime.

X’s lawsuit, which you can read in full at the end of this story, cites a date of July 10 House Judiciary Committee Report on WFA, which said the “conspiratorial conduct of WFA and GARM to demonetize disfavored content” was “alarming.” Earlier this month, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent letters to 40 companies involved with GARM to ask why advertisers “boycotted” right-wing outlets like The experience of Joe Rogan, The Daily Wire, Breitbart or Fox News. Musk already threatened to sue the advertisers who participated in the supposed boycott.

It is unclear how well X’s case will fare in court because, as pointed out by Techdirt, the ability to choose where to advertise is protected by the First Amendment. The advertising technology watchdog group Check my ads similarly that advertisers have the right “not to send money to a platform that promotes hate and conspiracies.”