Elon Musk’s X Settles Prolonged Legal Battle with the World Federation of Advertisers

A settlement has been reached between Elon Musk’s X and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), as communicated by both parties on Wednesday.

This agreement marks the end of Musk’s vigorous attempts to legally hold advertisers accountable for withdrawing their financial support from X, citing concerns regarding brand safety.

In 2024, X filed a lawsuit against the WFA, alleging a “systematic illegal boycott” after seeing a decline in advertising revenue following Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the platform in 2022. Companies such as Mars, CVS Health, Shell, and Lego were among those accused by X. In turn, the advertisers defended themselves, asserting their right to choose how to spend their advertising budgets.

The case was dismissed by a federal court in March, with a judge declaring that X failed to demonstrate any injury under federal competition laws. X attempted to appeal this decision in April.

“Today, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and X Corp. are concluding the litigation related to the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM),” their joint statement revealed. “This resets the relationship between both parties.”

X argued that advertisers decreased their spending due to guidelines set forth by the WFA’s Global Alliance for Responsible Media, which was created to ensure that ads do not appear alongside harmful online content.

Advertisers voiced fears that their brands could be associated with harmful content on the platform following Musk’s changes to content moderation policies.

“WFA reaffirms its dedication to freedom of speech, a principle embedded in WFA’s founding constitution since 1953, and one it shares with X,” continued the statement. “As of August 9, 2024, WFA has disbanded GARM and will not initiate or resurrect it or any similar initiatives. Both WFA and X concur that innovation in brand safety will be advantageous for brands, platforms, and consumers alike.”

Musk’s disputes with advertisers went beyond this legal matter; after assuming control of X, he notoriously told advertisers who reduced their spending to “go f*** yourself.”