The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) last night announced it would discontinue activities through its Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) initiative after being sued in antitrust lawsuits filed by Elon Musk’s X and fellow social media platform Rumble.
Business Insider reports WFA CEO Stephan Loerke wrote that the decisions was “not made lightly” in an email to members of the organisation, but that it was a not-for-profit with limited resources.
The GARM stands accused of conspiring to withhold advertising revenue from the two platforms in an “illegal boycott” after a Republican party-led committee released an interim staff report suggesting its actions could violate Section 1 of the Sherman Act.
Contesting allegations in court
In the same email viewed by Business Insiders, Loerke emphasised that the WFA intends to fight the lawsuits in court, confident the case will “demonstrate our full adherence to competition rules in all our activities.”
The GARM had over 100 members including major advertisers, tech-driven advertising platforms, agency and public relations groups, created with the goal of creating a framework for common definitions on topics of hate speech, brand safety, and misinformation.
Ad tech watchdog Check My Ads told the Guardian X’s lawsuit against the GARM would likely lead to further ad revenue loss.
“Everyone can see that advertising on X is a treacherous business relationship for advertisers,” Check My Ads co-founder Claire Atkin told the masthead.
“The upside to today’s news is that advertisers will no longer rely on Garm and will now take more direct responsibility over where their ads appear.”