Elon Musk’s X has settled its multiyear legal battle with advertising trade group the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), the two organizations announced on Wednesday. The settlement brings an end to Musk’s aggressive legal campaign to hold advertisers responsible for pulling spending from the platform over brand safety concerns following his $44 billion acquisition in 2022.
X sued the WFA in 2024, accusing the group of orchestrating a “systematic illegal boycott” of the platform. The lawsuit named major brands including Mars, CVS Health, Shell, and Lego as participants in the alleged boycott. The advertisers denied the allegations, arguing that brands have the right to decide where to spend their advertising dollars.
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Settlement ends GARM and resets advertiser relations
In a joint statement, X and the WFA said the litigation involving the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) is now behind them. “This resets the relationship between the two organizations,” the statement read.
The WFA had established GARM as a coalition of brands and advertising agencies to develop standards aimed at preventing ads from appearing alongside harmful content. After Musk overhauled X’s content moderation policies following his takeover, many advertisers became concerned that their brands would appear next to problematic material, leading to a significant pullback in ad spending.
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As part of the settlement, the WFA confirmed it will not restart GARM or launch a similar initiative. “WFA will not form or restart GARM or a similar initiative,” the statement said. “WFA and X are fully aligned in the view that brands, platforms, and consumers will all benefit from brand-safety innovation.”
Legal background and broader implications
A federal court had previously dismissed the lawsuit in March, ruling that X failed to demonstrate it had suffered harm under federal competition laws. X had appealed that decision in April before reaching the settlement.
The lawsuit was not the only instance of Musk clashing with advertisers. Shortly after acquiring X, he told advertisers who paused spending on the platform to “go f*** yourself,” a remark that further strained relations between the social network and the advertising industry.
The settlement removes a major legal distraction for X as the company works to rebuild its advertising revenue, which dropped sharply after Musk’s takeover. The company has since introduced new brand-safety tools and hired industry veterans to repair relationships with marketers.
The WFA, for its part, reiterated its commitment to freedom of speech, a principle it said has been part of its founding constitution since 1953. The group and X said they are now focused on collaborative innovation in brand safety rather than litigation.
