Elon Musk declares 'this is war' on the advertising industry in Twitter's lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers


by UK Government

On August 6, 2024, Twitter (formerly Twitter), owned by Elon Musk, filed a lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers and four of its member companies, alleging that the 'massive advertiser boycott' in which major companies simultaneously stopped advertising on Twitter, causing the company to lose huge advertising revenue, was an illegal act that violated antitrust laws.

Elon Musk's X sues advertisers over alleged 'massive advertiser boycott' after Twitter takeover | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/x-sues-advertisers-unilever-cvs-mars-orsted-673d1ae88e9fb0ca5b170d238739453e

Since Musk acquired X (then Twitter) in 2022, the company has frequently suffered from declining advertising revenue. For example, in February 2023, it was reported that more than half of major advertisers had stopped placing ads due to the confusion caused by the acquisition, and in November, advertisers one after another announced their withdrawal from X due to concerns that their ads were posted on hate speech and pro-Nazi posts.

Apple, Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, and others suspend advertising on Twitter following Elon Musk's anti-Semitic comments - GIGAZINE


By Daniel Oberhaus

In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Wichita Falls, X alleged that the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), an initiative of the Global Federation of Advertisers, conspired to force its member companies to stop or significantly reduce their purchases of Twitter advertising space.

X then sued the World Federation of Advertisers and its major member companies, including household goods giant Unilever, food giant Mars, healthcare company CVS Health, and Danish power company Ørsted A/S, for violating antitrust laws.

'The advertising boycott, as GARM likely intended, threatens to deny X users - sports fans, gamers, journalists, activists, parents, politicians and business leaders - a global forum for discourse,' CEO Linda Yaccarino said in a post titled an open letter to advertisers. 'This is a stain on our great industry and we cannot allow it to continue.'



According to Yaccarino, a report submitted to the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee titled 'The Perils of GARM' found that 'GARM and its member companies have engaged in direct boycotts and other indirect tactics to target and undermine disadvantaged platforms, content creators and news organizations, effectively limiting choice for consumers.'

Regarding the lawsuit, Musk said at X, 'We've been looking for peace for two years, and now it's war.'



Musk, who said he had been trying to find a way to reconcile with advertisers for two years, told Disney and others who withdrew their ads in 2023 to 'go to hell.'

Elon Musk hits back at Disney and other advertisers who stopped advertising, saying 'Go to hell' - GIGAZINE



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in Web Service, Posted by log1l_ks