Syed Imran Haider 
A global advertising association announced that it would suspend operations of its unit that focuses on brand safety.
This announcement came two days after X, the media company owned by Elon Musk, filed a lawsuit against the group. X has accused the association of organizing an illegal ad boycott.
The Lawsuit
The WFA, or World Federation of Advertisers, confirmed that it would suspend Global Alliance for Responsible Media.
This is a nonprofit initiative that was launched back in 2019. Partly, for helping advertisers in ensuring that their promotions do not show up with harmful content.
A federal lawsuit had been filed against WFA and its member companies by X on Tuesday. CVS Health, Mars and Unilever are a few of the member companies.
According to the lawsuit, the WFA exhibited anticompetitive behavior. Organizing an advertising boycott that had a negative impact on the financial health of X.
X filed the lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas. Attorneys for X also referred to previous allegations that were made against GARM by the Judiciary Committee led by Republicans.
They had claimed that under the antitrust laws, the activities of the ad group were possibly illegal. In addition, these activities also deprive consumers of choices.
The Reaction
A House Judiciary panel’s spokesperson, Russell Dye, said that the suspension of GARM was a victory not only for the first amendment, but also for the oversight work that Chairman Jordan had done.
Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive of X, also called it a step in the right direction. She said that they hoped that it was a sign of industry-wide reforms.
In 2022, after Elon Musk had acquired Twitter, now X, for $44 billion, many advertisers had hit pause on their campaigns.
This was because civil rights and other groups had discovered a rise in problematic content and hate speech on the platform.
In an interview in November, Musk had accused advertisers of trying to ‘blackmail’ him by putting a stop to their spending on X.
Musk had threatened to publicly announce that the advertisers were responsible for killing the firm, and he vowed to document everything.
The Events
Since then, X has taken legal actions against several watchdog organizations, such as the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and Media Matters.
These organizations had published reports on the increase in homophobic, inflammatory and conspiratorial content on Twitter, as well as hate speech.
Chief strategy officer at Ebiquity, Ruben Schreurs, said that the lawsuit against the WFA was a form of ‘weaponized litigation’.
He said that the aim of the lawsuit is to cripple organizations and stifle voices that are trying to improve safety on the web.
He added that brands are increasingly engaged in political battles. In March, the House Committee had claimed of having evidence of GARM members colluding for demonetizing conservative voices and platforms.
Schreurs predicts that the court will likely dismiss the WFA lawsuit. Nevertheless, he remains concerned about the aggressive stance taken against advertisers.
He further stated that politicians mostly drive the legal action taken against advertisers.
