Tesla CEO Elon Musk successfully filed a federal lawsuit that resulted in the shutdown of the advertising activist group called the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), as reported by Business Insider.
Musk reportedly filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertising, which is the parent company of GARM. The lawsuit alleged that the company promoted “illegal boycotts” of companies based on political views.
Two days later, the World Federation of Advertising announced its decision to “discontinue” GARM’s activities.
“We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war,” Musk said in reference to the lawsuit. The lawsuit argued that GARM organized “to collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising from Twitter.”
“GARM is a small, not-for-profit initiative, and recent allegations that unfortunately misconstrue its purpose and activities have caused a distraction and significantly drained its resources and finances,” the group said, per CNN. “GARM therefore is making the difficult decision to discontinue its activities.”
GARM said it is still planning to defend itself in court.
“No small group should be able to monopolize what gets monetized. This is an important acknowledgement and a necessary step in the right direction. I am hopeful that it means ecosystem-wide reform is coming,” X CEO Linda Yaccarino said.
CNN reported: “The end of GARM marks a temporary victory for Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino, even though a judge hasn’t made a ruling yet.”
In addition to the World Federation of Advertising, the lawsuit also named CVS, Unilever, Mars and the Danish energy company Ørsted as defendants.
