Musk Announces X To Sue 'Perpetrators And Collaborators' Behind Advertising Censorship Cartel

Elon Musk announced on Thursday that social media platform X will sue 'perpetrators and collaborators' who have colluded to control online speech, as revealed on Wednesday by an interim staff report released by the House Judiciary Committee.

"Having seen the evidence unearthed today by Congress, 𝕏 has no choice but to file suit against the perpetrators and collaborators in the advertising boycott racket," Musk wrote on his platform, adding "Hopefully, some states will consider criminal prosecution."

The House report details a coordinated effort by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and its Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) initiative to demonetize and suppress disfavored content across the internet.

As we noted on Wednesday, the WFA is a global association representing over 150 of the world’s biggest brands and over 60 national advertiser associations which created GARM in 2019.

This alliance quickly amassed significant market power, representing roughly 90% of global advertising spend, which amounts to nearly one trillion dollars annually.

GARM’s Steer Team reads like a who’s who of corporate America, including heavyweights such as Unilever, Mars, Diageo, Procter & Gamble (P&G), GroupM, AB InBev, L'Oréal, Nestlé, IBM, Mastercard, and PepsiCo. These corporations not only wield immense economic influence but are now revealed to be leveraging this power to control online discourse under the guise of "brand safety."

Collusion and Censorship

The Committee report details multiple instances of GARM’s coordinated efforts to influence and censor online content. Perhaps the most notable example is the recommendation for a boycott of Twitter following Elon Musk’s acquisition. GARM members, including Danish energy company Ørsted, were advised to pull their advertising from Twitter, a move that significantly impacted Twitter’s revenue. Internal emails show GARM's satisfaction with the result, with GARM leader Rob Rakowitz boasting about the impact on Twitter's financials.

"GARM recommended that its members 'stop all paid advertisement' on Twitter in response to Mr. Musk’s acquisition of the company. 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." -House Judiciary Committee

And now, Musk is going to sue. Though he may want to quit GARM first.