Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has initiated an inquiry into the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), responding to claims of a collusion-driven boycott aimed at several social media outlets, notably Elon Musk’s platform, X.
GARM is a cross-industry initiative that brings together advertisers, agencies, media platforms, and industry organizations to establish what it calls standards for “brand safety” in digital advertising.
This development from Paxton tracks closely behind an August antitrust lawsuit by X, which named GARM and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) as parties engaged in a coordinated effort to deprive selected platforms of advertising dollars, in breach of GARM’s “Brand Safety Standards.”
Paxton, vocal in his critique, has reprimanded the Biden administration for not applying antitrust regulations consistently, especially against allies perceived politically. “Trade organizations and companies cannot collude to block advertising revenue from entities they wish to undermine,” he asserted in a press release, emphasizing the risk such actions pose to free market competition.
X’s litigation posits that entities like Mars, CVS, and Unilever among GARM’s ranks, conspired to apply brand safety measures in a manner akin to a “naked restraint of trade,” adversely affecting social media venues.
Furthermore, the suit alleges these measures were collectively enforced not for the economic benefit of the advertisers but to compel platforms like X to conform.
Rumble, another platform popular among free speech supporters and co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, has decried GARM’s standards which led to the boycotts of alternative platforms. Both X and Rumble are pursuing an injunction to halt further advertiser coordination, alongside seeking compensatory damages and coverage of legal costs.
The House Judiciary Committee has presented evidence suggesting that GARM orchestrated boycotts and employed subtle methods to target platforms and creators it disfavored.
As Paxton probes into WFA’s conduct, this investigation signals mounting apprehension regarding the sway of global advertising factions over free speech and market dynamics. The resolution of this investigation could profoundly impact the advertising sector and its influence on online dialogue.
