A U.S. judge has rejected X Corp.’s antitrust lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers and several major companies, including Mars, CVS Health, and Colgate-Palmolive, over allegations of unlawfully boycotting Elon Musk’s social media platform. The lawsuit, filed in 2024, claimed that advertisers, through the World Federation of Advertisers’ Global Alliance for Responsible Media, collectively withheld substantial advertising revenue from X, formerly Twitter.
U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle in Dallas ruled that X did not demonstrate any harm under federal antitrust laws. The legal action accused the advertisers of engaging in a conspiracy against the platform, breaching U.S. antitrust laws and acting against their own economic interests. However, CVS and other defendants denied any wrongdoing and argued that X failed to prove coordinated actions, suggesting individual business decisions guided ad spending choices.
Boyle emphasized that the alleged conspiracy did not constitute an antitrust violation, leading to the dismissal of the lawsuit with prejudice. Elon Musk’s involvement with Twitter has triggered legal challenges, including a lawsuit against Media Matters for America following a report linking antisemitic content with advertisements on the platform. Musk was recently found liable for defrauding Twitter shareholders in a separate case, with his legal team contesting the verdict due to alleged jury misconduct.
In a related development, Musk’s lawyer raised concerns about the jury’s conduct during the trial, citing a numerical reference to ‘420’ on the verdict form as potentially biased. The number, associated with marijuana culture, was perceived as a deliberate message to Musk, raising doubts about the fairness of the verdict. The ongoing legal saga underscores the complexities surrounding Musk’s dealings with Twitter, now rebranded as X.
