Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has launched an investigation into a possible conspiracy from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) to “withhold advertising dollars from certain social media platforms” for allowing conservatives to have free speech.
The attorney general’s investigation comes soon after the WFA’s suborganization, the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), was caught pushing for an advertiser boycott of X/Twitter because the platform was purchased by Elon Musk.
Paxton sent an investigative demand letter to the WFA to request that they hand over documents regarding the “potential anticompetitive scheme” that he is investigating, noting that the organization is accused of conspiracy or collusion to boycott some social media platforms.
In the letter Paxton requested “documents and information related to WFA and its sub-organization known as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (‘GARM’) organizing their membership to potentially boycott social media platforms that are deemed to violate their ‘Brand Safety Standards,’” according to a press release from the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
Regarding his investigation, Paxton explained: “It is completely unacceptable and un-American that the Department of Justice under the Biden Administration failed to enforce antitrust laws against its perceived political allies. Trade organizations and companies cannot collude to block advertising revenue from entities they wish to undermine.”
BREAKING:
I have opened an investigation into a possible conspiracy by advertising companies to boycott certain social media platforms.
It is completely unacceptable and un-American that the Department of Justice under the Biden Administration failed to enforce antitrust laws… https://t.co/vZQkQDTw84
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) November 21, 2024
X users were quick to praise Paxton’s announcement, including X owner Elon Musk, who pointed out that the conspiracy to block advertising dollars from free speech platforms is “still a major problem.”
It’s still a major problem
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 21, 2024
His comment about the issue still being “a major problem” was in reference to the fact that GARM was shut down earlier this year, but the problem hasn’t stopped.
GARM was the subject of a House Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this year, where lawmakers presented evidence that advertisers were coerced into boycotting advertising on X. Following the hearing, Musk announced that he would be suing GARM after seeing this evidence, writing: “Having seen the evidence unearthed today by Congress, X has no choice but to file suit against the perpetrators and collaborators in the advertising boycott racket. Hopefully, some states will consider criminal prosecution.”
Having seen the evidence unearthed today by Congress, 𝕏 has no choice but to file suit against the perpetrators and collaborators in the advertising boycott racket.
Hopefully, some states will consider criminal prosecution. https://t.co/5W4yf1wxVO
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2024
Rumble, which is a free speech alternative to pro-censorship YouTube, also joined in to file a lawsuit against GARM for antitrust violations.
Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski told Fox News at the time: “What the World Federation of Advertisers has done is they created a monopoly to basically tell all these advertisers how they should spend money based on certain speech.”
After the announcement of these lawsuits, the WFA shut down GARM — but that isn’t stopping Paxton from investigating their alleged crimes.
