Elon Musk's social media platform, X, has initiated an antitrust lawsuit against The Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), alleging that the advertising group has engaged in illegal boycotts against companies, including X.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced the lawsuit on Tuesday, targeting GARM, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), and several GARM members, including CVS Health, Mars, Orsted, and Unilever.
Yaccarino's announcement follows a recent investigation by the House Judiciary Committee, which uncovered evidence that GARM and its members organized boycotts and employed indirect tactics to target certain platforms, content creators, and news organizations. According to Yaccarino, these tactics have resulted in significant financial losses for X.
On the same day, video-sharing platform Rumble, which also alleges being targeted by GARM’s initiatives, joined the lawsuit. The lawsuit centers on GARM's creation by the WFA to set arbitrary content standards for digital platforms, leading to an advertiser boycott against Rumble and other platforms. GARM’s influence is substantial, with the six largest ad agency holding companies, including WPP, among its members.
The House report highlights a coordinated effort by the WFA and GARM to suppress and demonetize unwanted content online. Established in 2019, GARM represents approximately 90% of global advertising spend, totaling nearly one trillion dollars annually. Its Steer Team includes major corporations such as Unilever, Mars, Diageo, Procter & Gamble, GroupM, AB InBev, L'Oréal, Nestlé, IBM, Mastercard, and PepsiCo, which are accused of using their economic power to control online discourse under the pretext of “brand safety.”
Read Yaccarino’s statement here.
Read Rumble’s press release here.
