Elon Musk's social media platform X has expanded its lawsuit against advertisers, adding several major brands to its legal battle over an alleged advertising boycott in 2022.
The amended complaint, filed on Saturday in a Texas federal court, names new defendants, including Lego, Nestlé, Tyson Foods, Abbott Laboratories, Colgate-Palmolive, Pinterest, and Shell International. The lawsuit was originally filed last year against the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), CVS, and video-streaming platform Twitch, accusing them of coordinating a large-scale pause in advertising following Musk's acquisition of Twitter, now rebranded as X.
According to the complaint, the WFA was concerned that X would deviate from the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), its brand safety initiative. The lawsuit alleges that at least 18 GARM-affiliated advertisers ceased buying ads on X either in the U.S. or globally in the weeks after Musk's takeover, while others significantly reduced their ad spend. X claims the boycott resulted in billions of dollars in lost advertising revenue, with lingering financial repercussions.
Lawyers for X argue that social media platforms should be able to establish their own brand safety standards rather than having them dictated by collective advertiser action. "But collective action among competing advertisers to dictate brand safety standards to be applied by social media platforms shortcuts the competitive process and allows the collective views of a group of advertisers with market power to override the interests of consumers," the complaint states.
Since Musk assumed control, X has undergone significant changes, including reinstating previously banned accounts, cutting contract content moderators, and disbanding teams responsible for addressing human rights violations and political manipulation.
Following the lawsuit's initial filing, the WFA announced it would discontinue GARM operations, citing "recent allegations that unfortunately misconstrue its purpose and activities," which it said had caused financial strain and resource depletion.