WICHITA FALLS, Tex. — Elon Musk’s social media platform X has taken legal action against a group of advertisers, claiming that a “massive advertiser boycott” caused significant financial losses and violated antitrust laws.
The company, formerly known as Twitter, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in a federal court in Texas against the World Federation of Advertisers and member companies Unilever, Mars, CVS Health, and Orsted.
It alleged that the advertising group’s initiative, known as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, played a role in orchestrating a pause in advertising activities after Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022 and subsequent revamping of its staff and policies.
FILE – Elon Musk arrives before a joint meeting of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, July 24, 2024.
Musk announced the lawsuit on X on Tuesday, declaring “now it is war” after two years of cooperation and receiving “nothing but empty words.”
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X CEO Linda Yaccarino explained in a video statement that the lawsuit was based on evidence from the U.S. House Judiciary Committee indicating that a “group of companies orchestrated an illegal boycott” against X.
The committee, led by Republicans, held a hearing recently to evaluate the adequacy of existing laws in deterring anticompetitive behavior in online advertising.
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Elon Musk has resumed his legal dispute with OpenAI, targeting its collaboration with Microsoft. The lawsuit accuses CEO Sam Altman of fraud and breach of contract, alleging that the company strayed from its original mission of developing AI “for the benefit of humanity”. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI in 2015, claims that Altman unlawfully partnered with Microsoft to establish for-profit entities, diverting the nonprofit’s resources and workforce. Musk seeks to invalidate the exclusive license between OpenAI and Microsoft, arguing that it unfairly grants Microsoft special access to GPT-4’s underlying code. The lawsuit highlights Microsoft’s early interest in OpenAI, particularly regarding discounted computing resources for product promotion. Altman is accused of self-dealing, including partnerships with Reddit and Rain, and concealing vital information from the board. Musk’s renewed legal action follows his public objection to OpenAI’s shift towards for-profit activities and a previous lawsuit he dropped earlier this year.
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