{"id":2320166,"date":"2024-08-06T17:18:57","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T21:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/x-and-rumble-file-antitrust-complaint-against-global-ad-group-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-06T17:24:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T21:24:28","slug":"x-and-rumble-file-antitrust-complaint-against-global-ad-group-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/x-and-rumble-file-antitrust-complaint-against-global-ad-group-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"X and Rumble file antitrust complaint against global ad group &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fx-and-rumble-file-antitrust-complaint-against-global-ad-group-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2320166&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>X Corp., the parent company of the \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platform<\/a> formerly known \u200bas Twitter \u200d(now\u200d X), has filed\u200d an antitrust \u200dlawsuit against the Global \u2064Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and its prominent members, including major \u200dbrands like Mars and Unilever. The lawsuit accuses GARM of coordinating \u200dan \u200cadvertising boycott against X and other platforms, specifically \u200dtargeting Rumble, a\u200c conservative-friendly video-sharing \u2062site. X Corp. CEO Linda Yaccarino\u2064 announced \u2063the lawsuit, citing findings from \u200da House Judiciary\u2063 Committee investigation that indicated GARM&#8217;s members\u2062 organized \u2062boycotts to limit competition and suppress \u2064certain platforms and content.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint argues that GARM&#8217;s actions constitute illegal \u200bcollusion that harms both competition and \u2062consumers, violating the Sherman \u2064Act. It asserts that the brand\u2064 safety \u2062standards\u200d promoted by GARM should compete in the \u200dmarketplace rather than being enforced through market\u200c manipulation by advertisers. Rumble has also alleged that GARM employed\u2064 blanket standards to implement its boycott against platforms like\u2062 theirs.<\/p>\n<p>Both \u200cX Corp. and Rumble \u200care seeking \u2062a \u2064permanent injunction to prevent such conduct, as \u200bwell as damages \u2063and legal fees. The \u2063lawsuit follows a recent ruling against Google \u200bin a\u200d separate antitrust matter, highlighting ongoing\u2062 scrutiny of major tech companies and advertising\u2064 practices. The\u200c case has been filed in \u2064the U.S. District Court \u2062for the Northern District of Texas.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">X and Rumble file antitrust complaint against global ad group<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1664618\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Elon Musk<\/a>&lsquo;s social media <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/twitter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>platform X<\/a> filed an antitrust lawsuit against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3077135\/media-group-gop-report-alleged-censorship-of-conservatives\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Global Alliance for Responsible Media<\/a>, accusing the international advertising group of illegally boycotting companies, including the video-sharing site Rumble and other platforms.<\/p>\n<p>X Corp. CEO Linda Yaccarino posted a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/lindayaX\/status\/1820838625245880634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1820838625245880634%7Ctwgr%5E0449f539df3acda14522bbf332092f403a0165aa%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxbusiness.com%2Fmarkets%2Felon-musks-x-files-antitrust-lawsuit-against-worldwide-advertising-group\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">video<\/a>&nbsp;Tuesday announcing X, formerly known as Twitter, filed a lawsuit against GARM, World Federation Advertisers, and top members of GARM such as Mars, CVS Health, Unilever, and Orsted. The suit is joined by Rumble, an alternative video website to popular platforms like YouTube that conservative influencers laud as a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2810142\/free-speech-haven-rumble-announces-partnership-with-barstool-sports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free speech alternative<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A Message to X Users <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6bZOYPhWVa\">pic.twitter.com\/6bZOYPhWVa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lindayaX\/status\/1820838625245880634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The latest antitrust suit comes after Yaccarino said she reviewed the House Judiciary Committee&rsquo;s investigation into GARM that found &ldquo;its members directly organized boycotts and used other indirect tactics to target disfavored platforms, content creators, and news organizations in an effort to demonetize and, in effect, limit certain choices for consumers.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.txnd.393003\/gov.uscourts.txnd.393003.1.0_1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>complaint<\/a> alleges that several key advertisers coordinated by GARM conspired to boycott X by withholding advertising revenue. The complaint contends this alleged action was taken to enforce GARM&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meet-the-company-trying-to-control-your-mind\/\" title=\"Meet The Company Trying To Control Your Mind\">brand safety standards<\/a> and was not in the individual economic interests of the advertisers but rather a collective effort to pressure X into compliance.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The conduct of Defendants and their co-conspirators is a naked restraint of trade without countervailing benefits to competition or consumers &hellip; The Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. &sect; 1, does not allow this,&rdquo; the complaint states. &ldquo;The brand safety standards set by GARM should succeed or fail in the marketplace on their own merits and not through the coercive exercise of market power by advertisers acting collectively to promote their own economic interests through commercial restraints at the expense of social media platforms and their users.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rumble also accused GARM of using a &ldquo;one-size-fits-all standards to perpetrate an advertiser boycott against Rumble and other platforms,&rdquo; according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/corp.rumble.com\/blog\/rumble-joins-x-to-sue-advertising-cartel-that-allegedly-conspired-to-withhold-digital-advertising-revenue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Both X and Rumble are seeking a permanent injunction against &ldquo;the continued conduct, damages, interest, and legal fees, among other relief,&rdquo; the press release added.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint comes just&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/3111157\/federal-judge-google-violated-antitrust-law-landmark-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one day after<\/a>&nbsp;a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled against Google in a landmark antitrust case. The judge found that Google&rsquo;s parent company, Alphabet, violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by paying other companies to assert dominance over other search platforms.<\/p>\n<p>X Corp.&rsquo;s suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Wichita Falls Division, which, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/steve_vladeck\/status\/1820847976484393137\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>according<\/a> to legal experts, has a &ldquo;100%&rdquo; chance of being assigned to Judge Reed O&rsquo;Connor, an appointee of former President George W. Bush. The judge has ruled in favor of several conservative-backed efforts since the start of the Biden administration, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1575091\/federal-judge-blocks-dod-from-punishing-navy-seals-for-seeking-religious-exemptions-to-vaccine-mandate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>blocking<\/a> the Department of Defense from punishing Navy SEALs for refusing to take COVID-19 vaccines, ruling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/3043608\/bidens-atf-loses-big-in-pistol-brace-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>against<\/a> Biden&rsquo;s &ldquo;pistol brace&rdquo; rule, and issuing favorable decisions for Texas to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3038879\/texas-wins-first-round-in-battle-over-title-ix-lawsuit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>halt amendments<\/a> to Title IX.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After Musk purchased Twitter in April 2022 on a promise to allow more free and open dialogue, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senior-state-department-official-argues-in-favor-of-high-gas-prices\/\" title=\"Senior State Department Official Argues in Favor of High Gas Prices\">social media platform began<\/a> to see losses in advertisement revenue after major corporations pulled out due to concerns over &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/technology\/4319418-elon-musk-x-twitter-advertisers-antisemitism-controversy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>hate speech<\/a>&rdquo; appearing on the platform.<\/p>\n<p>Musk announced in May of last year that Yaccarino would <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Business\/elon-musk-chosen-new-twitter-ceo-step-weeks\/story?id=99265576\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>serve<\/a> as the company&rsquo;s new head following months of backlash toward Musk serving as CEO of the platform.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>contacted GARM and WFA for comment.<\/p>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1664618\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1664618\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>X and Rumble have filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), claiming that the global advertising organization is unlawfully boycotting various companies, including Rumble, a video-sharing platform. Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X Corp., shared a video on Tuesday detailing the lawsuit against GARM, the World Federation of Advertisers, and prominent GARM members like Mars, CVS Health, Unilever, and Orsted. Rumble is joining X in this legal action as it positions itself as a free speech alternative to mainstream platforms like YouTube.<\/p>\n<p>Yaccarino&#8217;s decision to pursue this lawsuit follows her review of an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee into GARM. The investigation revealed that GARM members had organized boycotts and employed indirect methods to target certain platforms and content creators with the aim of demonetizing them and limiting consumer choices. The complaint alleges that key advertisers coordinated by GARM conspired to boycott X by withholding ad revenue not for their individual economic benefit but as part of a collective effort to compel compliance from X regarding brand safety standards set by GARM.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint argues that such actions constitute an unlawful restraint on trade without any benefits for competition or consumers under the Sherman Act. It asserts that brand safety standards should be determined based on market performance rather than through coercive tactics employed collectively by advertisers at the expense of social media platforms.<\/p>\n<p>Rumble has also accused GARM of applying uniform standards to enforce an advertiser boycott against itself and other platforms. Both X and Rumble are seeking a permanent injunction against these practices along with damages, interest, legal fees, and other forms of relief.<\/p>\n<p>This lawsuit comes shortly after a federal judge ruled against Google in another significant antitrust case involving its parent company Alphabet&#8217;s dominance over search engines. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for Northern District of Texas Wichita Falls Division where it is likely assigned to Judge Reed O\u2019Connor\u2014known for favoring conservative-backed initiatives since his appointment under President George W. Bush.<\/p>\n<p>After Elon Musk acquired Twitter in April 2022 with promises for more open dialogue on the platform, it began experiencing declines in ad revenue as major corporations withdrew due to concerns about &#8220;hate speech.&#8221; In May 2023, Musk appointed Yaccarino as CEO following backlash over his leadership style at Twitter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2320167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Musk-scaled-1024x676.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[13386,5509,5668,9343,18348],"class_list":["post-2320166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-advertising","tag-antitrust","tag-complaint","tag-rumble","tag-x"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Musk-scaled-1024x676.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2320166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2320166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2320166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2320167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2320166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2320166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2320166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}