Elon Musk's X has reached a settlement in its multiyear legal dispute with the World Federation for Advertisers (WFA), the two organisations confirmed on Wednesday. The agreement concludes X's legal efforts to hold advertisers accountable for reducing spending on the platform due to brand safety concerns.
X initiated legal action against the WFA in 2024, claiming a "systematic illegal boycott" after experiencing a decline in advertising revenue following Musk's acquisition of the social network in 2022. Companies such as Mars, CVS Health, Shell, and Lego were among those X accused. Advertisers denied these allegations, asserting their right to choose where to allocate advertising funds.
A federal court dismissed the lawsuit in March, stating that X had not demonstrated harm under federal competition laws. X subsequently appealed this ruling in April. A joint statement from the WFA and X Corp. declared they are "putting the litigation involving the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) behind them," aiming to reset their relationship.
X had alleged that advertisers reduced spending due to guidelines from GARM, a WFA coalition established to develop standards to prevent ads from appearing alongside harmful online content. Advertisers had expressed concerns about their brands appearing next to harmful content following changes to X's content moderation policies. The WFA stated it discontinued GARM on August 9, 2024, and will not form or restart a similar initiative, adding that both organisations believe "brands, platforms, and consumers will all benefit from brand-safety innovation."