Elon Musk's X sues Unilever and Mars over alleged boycott conspiracy

Elon Musk's X/Twitter is taking legal action against a group of major companies, claiming they unlawfully conspired to boycott the platform.

The lawsuit targets food giants Unilever and Mars, private healthcare company CVS Health, renewable energy firm Orsted, and the trade association World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), accusing them of causing "billions of dollars" in lost advertising revenue.

The legal case concerns the period in 2022, shortly after Musk acquired X, then known as Twitter, during which advertising revenue plummeted.

Several companies hesitated to advertise on the platform due to concerns that its new owner was not committed to adequately removing harmful online content.

X chief executive Linda Yaccarino said "people are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is constricted. No small group of people should monopolize what gets monetised".

Elon Musk tweeted, "We tried being nice for 2 years and got nothing but empty words. Now, it is war."

The WFA and the companies accused in the lawsuit have not yet responded to requests for comment.

Advertising revenue at X dropped by over 50% in the year following Mr. Musk's acquisition, as advertisers steered clear of the platform.

In the lawsuit, X claims that the accused companies unjustly withheld their advertising spending by adhering to safety standards established by a WFA initiative known as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM).

Garm's stated aim is to "help the industry address the challenge of illegal or harmful content on digital media platforms and its monetisation via advertising".

X asserts that by doing so, the companies acted against their own economic interests in a conspiracy against the platform, thereby violating US antitrust, or competition, law.