A US District Judge has dismissed with prejudice X's antitrust lawsuit claiming advertisers colluded to boycott the platform. Judge Jane Boyle ruled that X failed to show consumer harm required for an antitrust claim. The decision comes after advertisers pulled ads citing concerns over content moderation on X.
On Thursday, US District Judge Jane J. Boyle of the Northern District of Texas dismissed X Corp.'s lawsuit against major advertisers, ruling that their decision to pause advertising did not violate antitrust laws. X, formerly Twitter, had accused members of the World Federation of Advertisers' Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) of conspiring to boycott the platform following Elon Musk's acquisition and changes to content moderation policies in 2022. Named defendants included companies such as Shell, Nestlé, Colgate, Mars, Twitch, and Lego, who cited brand safety concerns amid reports of increased hate speech on the site under lighter moderation rules. Advertisers formed GARM to enforce collective standards for ad placements, gaining leverage over platforms by threatening coordinated action if standards were not met. Musk received warnings from GARM after taking over Twitter, leading to a meeting, but the boycott persisted, slashing X's revenue by up to 59% in early 2023, as reported by The New York Times. In her opinion, Boyle wrote, “The very nature of the alleged conspiracy does not state an antitrust claim, and the Court therefore has no qualm dismissing with prejudice.” She emphasized that antitrust injury requires harm to consumers, not just competitors, and noted X's claims—that reduced revenue hindered platform improvements—fell short. Boyle also criticized X's early push for broad discovery as a “fishing expedition,” focusing on general GARM involvement rather than boycott specifics. Advertisers maintained their decisions were independent, based on individual brand safety assessments. The ruling, which bars refiling, may impact X's separate lawsuit against Media Matters, though Musk has not commented. GARM was suspended in 2024 amid related litigation.
