A U.S. federal judge has delivered another legal setback to Elon Musk, dismissing his social media company X's antitrust lawsuit against major advertisers who allegedly orchestrated an illegal boycott of the platform.
U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle in Dallas ruled Thursday that X Corp. failed to demonstrate any harm under federal antitrust laws in its case against the World Federation of Advertisers and major companies including Mars, CVS Health, and Colgate-Palmolive.
The lawsuit, filed in 2024, accused the advertisers of acting through the Global Alliance for Responsible Media initiative to collectively withhold "billions of dollars in advertising revenue" from X, formerly known as Twitter.
Conspiracy Claims Rejected
Judge Boyle wrote in her dismissal order that "the very nature of the alleged conspiracy does not state an antitrust claim, and the court therefore has no qualm dismissing with prejudice."
The defendants had argued they made independent business decisions about advertising spending rather than acting in unison. In court filings, the companies stated that advertisers independently chose rival platforms due to concerns about X's commitment to brand safety following Musk's 2022 takeover.
The companies noted that Musk had fired employees who previously kept the site "welcoming to users and accommodating to family-friendly brands."
Second Legal Defeat in Two Weeks
This marks the second significant legal defeat for Musk in recent weeks. Last week, a U.S. federal jury found him liable for defrauding Twitter shareholders by attempting to manipulate the company's stock price during his $44 billion takeover in 2022.
Musk's lawyer has since filed an appeal of that verdict, claiming jurors improperly used their decision to "send a message" and accused them of "mocking" his client by writing "$4.20" in bright blue ink on the verdict form while other entries were in black.
Ongoing Legal Battles
X continues to face other litigation stemming from Musk's acquisition and management of the platform. The company is also pursuing a lawsuit against Media Matters for America, alleging the liberal advocacy group manipulated algorithms to create images showing advertisers' content next to antisemitic material.
Neither X nor the World Federation of Advertisers immediately responded to requests for comment following Thursday's ruling.
This story is based on reporting by David Chen from CBC Business. Read the original article at CBC.ca.