By C. Perera, JadeTimes News
Elon Musk's X Sues Unilever and Mars Over Alleged Boycott
Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter, is suing a group of advertisers and major companies, accusing them of unlawfully agreeing to "boycott" the platform. The lawsuit, filed in a Texas court, targets food giants Unilever and Mars, private healthcare company CVS Health, renewable energy firm Orsted, and the trade association World Federation of Advertisers .
X claims that this alleged boycott has deprived it of "billions of dollars" in revenue. Legal experts, however, suggest that the case is unlikely to succeed due to the difficulty of proving collusion or an agreement between companies.
The lawsuit pertains to the period in 2022, shortly after Musk acquired X Twitter, when advertising revenue plummeted. Concerns had risen among companies about advertising on the platform, doubting Musk’s commitment to removing harmful online content. In the year following Musk's acquisition, advertising revenue for X dropped by more than half.
X's CEO, Linda Yaccarino, commented, "People are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is constricted. No small group of people should monopolize what gets monetized." She emphasized that the alleged boycott threatened the company's future viability.
Musk himself tweeted, "We tried being nice for 2 years and got nothing but empty words. Now, it is war."
The WFA and the accused companies have not responded to requests for comment. Legal experts remain skeptical about the case's chances of success. Bill Baer, former assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's antitrust division, stated, "As a general rule, a politically motivated boycott is not an antitrust violation. It is protected speech under our First Amendment." Christine Bartholomew, an antitrust expert and professor at University at Buffalo's law school, added that X would need to prove an "actual agreement to boycott joined by each advertiser," which would be "no small hurdle."
Even if the case succeeds, X cannot compel companies to purchase advertising space on the platform. The company is seeking unspecified damages and a court order to prevent any further efforts to conspire to withhold advertising spending.
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