X, Owned by Elon Musk, Brings Antitrust Suit Accusing Advertisers of a Boycott

Technology|X, Owned by Elon Musk, Brings Antitrust Suit Accusing Advertisers of a Boycott

X on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, a coalition of major advertisers, claiming that it had violated antitrust laws by coordinating with brands to dissuade them from spending money on the social media platform.

The suit, filed in federal court in Texas, claims that the coalition, known as GARM, “conspired” with leading brands, including CVS, Unilever and the Danish energy company Ørsted to “collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue” that were owed to X, then known as Twitter, in the wake of Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media company in 2022.

“The illegal behavior of these organizations and their executives cost X billions of dollars,” wrote Linda Yaccarino, X’s chief executive, in an open letter to advertisers. “People are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is undermined and some viewpoints are not funded over others as part of an illegal boycott.”

After Mr. Musk’s takeover, the company did not adhere to GARM’s guidelines, but X recommitted to the coalition in July. Then last week, the House Judiciary Committee expanded its probe into GARM’s activities, sending letters to more than 40 member companies that asked them to preserve documents and answer questions about their relationship with the group.

Mr. Musk has long had a tempestuous relationship with X’s advertisers. Last year at The New York Times DealBook Summit, he accused advertisers of trying to “blackmail” him by pulling their advertising from X after he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory online. Mr. Musk told brands “don’t advertise” and used an expletive several times to emphasize his point.

Mr. Musk singled out Bob Iger, the chief executive of Disney, which was a major advertiser on X at the time. Mr. Iger had said that the company’s association with “Elon Musk and X was not necessarily a positive one for us.”

This is a developing news story and will be updated.