X

X files antitrust suit against advertisers

Musk declares 'war' as ad revenue craters over lack of content moderation
Trade
Elon Musk. Image: Shutterstock

7 August 2024

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, announced Tuesday that the platform has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA). Yaccarino accuses the organizations, as well as GARM members CVS Health, Mars, Ørsted and Unilever, of what she calls a systematic illegal boycott.

GARM was founded in 2019 in an effort to protect advertisers from illegal or harmful content on social platforms. X itself, as it happens, is also a member of GARM.

Major advertisers such as Mars and Unilever for now refuse to advertise on X due to lack of moderation. In taking over X, owner Elon Musk fired a large number of moderators. But X takes the position that freedom of speech should not be undermined.

 

advertisement



 

Six pieces of evidence have been provided, mostly internal emails between GARM members and ad agencies. According to Yaccarino, these show that the group advised clients on what platforms they could advertise on.

GARM reveals that neither GARM nor WFA ever made any recommendation, or suggested any action, regarding advertisers’ investments on Twitter.

“We tried to be nice for two years and got nothing but empty words,” X CEO Elon Musk added Tuesday. “Now it’s war.”

Analyst Tracer previously noted drastic declines’ in terms of ads compared to competitors such as YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest. In June, X ads recorded a sharp drop in click-through rates (CTRs) of up to 78%. Moreover, cost per thousand (CPMs) dropped 17% from May to June, suggesting that advertisers are abandoning X.

Read More:


Back to Top ↑

TechCentral.ie