A United States federal judge has dismissed X Corp.'s antitrust lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers and several major corporations, dealing another legal blow to Elon Musk's social media platform.
U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle ruled Thursday in Dallas federal court that X failed to demonstrate it suffered harm under federal antitrust laws from what the company claimed was an illegal advertising boycott.
The 2024 lawsuit targeted the World Federation of Advertisers and major brands including Mars, CVS Health, and Colgate-Palmolive, alleging they collectively withheld "billions of dollars in advertising revenue" from the platform formerly known as Twitter.
X claimed the advertisers worked through the Global Alliance for Responsible Media initiative to conspire against the platform in violation of U.S. antitrust law, arguing the companies acted against their own economic interests.
However, the defendants successfully argued they made independent business decisions about advertising spending rather than acting in unison. In court filings, the companies stated 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 fired employees who had previously "kept the site welcoming to users and accommodating to family-friendly brands."
"The very nature of the alleged conspiracy does not state an antitrust claim, and the court therefore has no qualm dismissing with prejudice,"Judge Boyle wrote in her order.
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 bid in 2022.
Musk's lawyer Alex Spiro has requested a federal judge review that verdict, claiming jurors improperly sought 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.
The tech billionaire continues to face other legal challenges related to his ownership of X, including an ongoing lawsuit against Media Matters for America over a 2023 report that highlighted antisemitic content appearing alongside advertisements from major companies on the platform.
Neither X nor the World Federation of Advertisers immediately responded to requests for comment following Thursday's ruling.
This article is based on reporting from CBC World. Read the original story here.