X settles multiyear ad lawsuit with World Federation of Advertisers

Elon Musk’s X and the advertising trade group the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) have settled their multiyear legal battle, the two organizations said Wednesday, ending Musk’s aggressive attempt to hold advertisers legally responsible for pulling ad spending from the platform over brand-safety concerns.

X sued the WFA in 2024, accusing it of running what X called a “systematic illegal boycott” of the platform, after X saw advertising revenue decline following Musk’s $44 billion takeover of the social network in 2022. X accused companies including Mars, CVS Health, Shell, and Lego of taking part; the advertisers rejected the allegations and argued that brands are free to choose where to spend their advertising dollars.

A federal court dismissed the lawsuit in March, with a judge ruling that X had failed to demonstrate it suffered any harm under federal competition laws. X appealed the decision in April.

In a joint statement, the two organizations said, “Today the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and X Corp. are putting the litigation involving the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) behind them.” X had alleged that advertisers cut spending because of guidelines developed by GARM, a WFA coalition of brands and advertising agencies established to keep ads from appearing next to harmful online content; advertisers, in turn, worried their brands would run alongside harmful material after Musk overhauled the platform’s content-moderation policies. The WFA said it discontinued GARM on August 9, 2024, will not restart it or a similar initiative, and reiterated its commitment to free speech — a principle it says has been part of its founding constitution since 1953 and that it shares with X. The WFA added that it and X are now aligned in viewing brand-safety innovation as something that will benefit brands, platforms, and consumers alike.

The lawsuit was not the only clash between Musk and advertisers. After acquiring the platform, Musk responded to advertisers who had paused their spending with a blunt, profane dismissal, telling them, in effect, to stay away.

Why it matters

The settlement removes a legal flashpoint that had chilled ad-industry coordination on platform content standards, and signals X is prioritizing rebuilding advertiser relationships over continuing a fight it had already lost once in court.