A judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas has thrown out a case brought by X Corp. against several companies accused of orchestrating an unlawful advertising boycott, according to Reuters. The platform launched the legal action in 2024 after brands withdrew their marketing spend from the site, citing concerns over insufficient controls on hateful content.
In her ruling, Judge Jane J. Boyle rejected arguments from X that the ad withdrawals by entities such as Twitch, Shell, Nestlé, and Lego constituted harm under antitrust laws. These firms belong to the Global Alliance for Responsible Media under the World Federation of Advertisers, a group that helps brands negotiate content safety requirements with advertising hosts. Dissatisfied with X's content oversight policies, the advertisers shifted their budgets to alternative social networks. While this move damaged X's advertising income, Boyle noted in her order that X failed to allege any intent by the brands to aid rivals or launch a rival service. Moreover, the brands did not block X from securing ads from non-members. Boyle stated that the purported scheme inherently fails to meet antitrust criteria, leading her to dismiss the case permanently without hesitation.
The 'with prejudice' dismissal bars X from pursuing the matter again in the future. Additionally, Judge Boyle blocked any immediate appeal of her ruling. X's owner, Elon Musk, had likened the litigation to a battle against adversaries, yet the aggressive stance yielded no results. By January 2026, X announced that almost every major advertiser had resumed placing ads on the service. Now operating as part of xAI, the network confronts fresh challenges, including reports that its AI tool Grok can produce inappropriate sexual images involving children.