X (formerly Twitter) has added seven more advertisers to its lawsuit alleging brands collectively “conspired” to “withhold billions in advertising revenue,” from the platform following Elon Musk’s $44 billion 2022 takeover.
Abbott Laboratories, Colgate-Palmolive, Lego, Nestlé, Pinterest, Shell International, and Tyson Foods were named by Musk’s lawyers in an expanded complaint filed in a Texas federal court on Feb. 1.
The amendment builds on legal proceedings initiated in August 2024, in which X revealed plans to sue the global trade body the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), and its now disbanded subsidiary the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM.) CVS, Mars, and energy firm Ørsted were also cited as defendants.
X claims the WFA, GARM, and its members worked together to stage a “boycott” that violated federal antitrust laws, following concerns the platform had deviated from brand safety standards following Musk’s acquisition in late 2022.
The business has demanded a jury trial to settle the matter. X is seeking trebled damages and injunctive relief that would stop any defendants named from “continuing to conspire with respect to the purchase of advertising,” on its platform.
CPG giant Unilever was also named in X’s original filing but has since reached an agreement with the company to “continue [their] partnership.” Elsewhere, Amazon-owned Twitch was added to proceedings in November 2024.
In August 2024, the WFA stated its intention to contest the suit, asserting its compliance with competition law. It declined to comment on the updated complaint.
ADWEEK has reached out to each new brand named in the updated court documents. At the time of writing, no statements had been issued
X’s ‘War’ on Advertisers
Since Musk took ownership, several household brands, including Unilever, Disney, and Apple have been reducing, pausing, or entirely halting advertising on the platform, due to a rise in hate speech and disinformation.
