Advertising trade group the World Federation of Advertisers told its members on Thursday that it is “pausing” activities of its Global Alliance for Responsible Media initiative following an antitrust lawsuit filed against the company by Elon Musk’s X Company earlier this week.
The decision “was not taken lightly,” WFA CEO Stefan Loerke wrote in an email to members, seen by Business Insider, but GARM is a nonprofit with limited resources.
Lorky said World Rugby and IRB intended to challenge the allegations in the X lawsuit in court and were confident the outcome of the case would “demonstrate our full commitment to competition rules across all our activities”.
This news comes just two days after X filed an antitrust lawsuit. suit In a Texas court, which alleged that GARM members illegally colluded to “withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue” from Twitter, now known as X. GARM members Unilever, Mars, CVS, and Austed were also named as defendants.
Representatives for WFA and GARM did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
10th CEO Linda Yaccarino posted on X Shortly after this article was published: “No small group should be able to monopolize what is monetized. This is an important recognition and a necessary step in the right direction. I am optimistic that this means that a comprehensive overhaul of the ecosystem is coming.”
Founded in 2019, GARM is a US-based initiative that has created frameworks to provide common definitions around areas such as hate speech, brand safety, and misinformation. It has more than 100 members from major advertisers, agency groups, and ad tech platforms. Use of these frameworks has been voluntary—they do not name or label any specific platforms—and GARM’s role is not to advise marketers on where to spend their budgets.
Twitter’s ad revenue has fallen sharply since Musk’s takeover, and major advertisers were among those who fled the platform after the company changed owners. Musk has fired legions of sales and safety staff and reinstated previously banned accounts to the platform, now known as X. The platform’s lawsuit alleges that after Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, GARM persuaded major brands not to advertise on it.
Advertising insiders expressed concerns to Business Insider earlier this week that while they believe the allegations in the X lawsuit are unfounded, the move would still drain GARM’s resources and hamper its work.
GARM has only two full-time staffers and has already hired legal counsel to handle legal requests from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. The committee has been investigating Whether GARM members colluded illegally To defund conservative platforms and voices. The investigation is ongoing.
“This is a major victory for the First Amendment and a major win for Chairman Jordan’s oversight work,” said Russell Day, a committee spokesman.
Earlier this week, video site Rumble also filed an antitrust lawsuit. suit A non-profit organization has filed a lawsuit against FIFA, advertising holding company WPP and its media arm GroupM, alleging they collectively agreed to restrict advertising on social platforms, including Rumble.
In posts on X, Musk previously encouraged other companies that were “systematically boycotted by advertisers” to file their own lawsuits.
“There could also be criminal liability through RICO,” he said. It was published.referring to the Racketeering and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Representatives for X Company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story is under development. Stay tuned for updates.
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