X CEO Linda Yaccarino Tuesday announced that the social media platform has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA).
In a video posted to X, Yaccarino accuses the organizations – along with GARM members CVS Health, Mars, Orsted and Unilever – of what Yaccarino calls a “systematic illegal boycott” of the platform.
The executive cites a July report from the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee titled, “GARM’s (Global Alliance for Responsible Media) Harm.” According to the report,
Through GARM, large corporations, advertising agencies, and industry associations participated in boycotts and other coordinated action to
demonetize platforms, podcasts, news outlets, and other content deemed disfavored by GARM and its members. This collusion can have the effect of eliminating a variety of content and viewpoints available to consumers.
GARM was founded in by the World Federation of Advertisers in 2019 in a bid to “help the industry address the challenge of illegal or harmful content on digital media platforms and its monetization via advertising,” according to the organization’s site.
The Judiciary report specifically addresses boycotts of X, The Joe Rogan Experience/Spotify and “Candidates, platforms, and news outlets with opposing political views.”
In particular it addresses organization member concerns over Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform then known as Twitter. One member, according to the report, suggested that fellow members stop paid advertisements on the service, contributing to a precipitous drop in revenue.
“GARM’s internal documents show that GARM was asked by a member to ‘arrange a meeting and hear more about [GARM’s] perspectives about the Twitter situation and a possible boycott from many companies,” the report’s authors note. GARM also held ‘extensive debriefing and discussion around Elon Musks’ [sic] takeover of Twitter,’ providing ample opportunity for the boycott to be organized.”
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