Advertisers' Illegal Boycott: X's Antitrust Lawsuit Raises Concerns

EX CEO Linda Carino filed a lawsuit against an industry group for an illegal advertising boycott, alleging antitrust violations.

### X Files Lawsuit Alleging Antitrust Violations in Advertiser Boycott
* 🏛️  X, a social media company, has filed a lawsuit accusing an industry group of **violating antitrust laws** for an advertising boycott.
* 💰  The lawsuit alleges that the boycott cost **X billions of dollars in revenue**.
* 🛑  The industry group is accused of advising its members not to spend on X, effectively creating a **boycott**.
* 🤔  While the legality of the boycott is questioned, it is seen as a signal that X is **struggling financially** and is **picking a fight with the broader ad industry**.
* 👥  X's CEO, Linda Carino, made **strong statements about the situation**, with Elon Musk also **amplifying the message**.
* 📉  X has reportedly been suffering financially since Musk took over and Carino became CEO.
* 🔍  The lawsuit may overlook X's own controversial behavior, including **Elon Musk's aggressive stance towards advertisers in the past**.
* 🤝  The legal battle highlights the **complexities of competition** in the digital advertising industry and the **power dynamics** between platforms and advertisers.

I was shocked by the evidence uncovered
by the House Judiciary Committee that a group of companies organized a
systematic illegal boycott against ICS. It is just wrong, and that is why we are
taking action. That was Linda Carino, the CEO of EX,
after the company filed a lawsuit accusing an industry group of violating
antitrust laws for an advertising boycott that cost the social media
company billions of dollars, it alleges in the filing.
Let's bring in Bloom Bass Wagner. An advertising boycott sounds severe.
Federal filing in a court in Texas. Just explain the very basic accusation
that X is making. Yeah.
I mean, the claim is that this group, this industry trade group for
advertisers, essentially did anti-competitive behaviour, right?
They came out and they advised all the members of the group not to spend on X,
kind of created, as you know, Carino said, a boycott of the business, and
they're claiming this is illegal.

Now, I don't know exactly what an illegal boycott is versus a legal one, but you and I have seen boycotts of not only advertising but products all the time. Right? This is usually the way that consumers or businesses sort of voice their displeasure with someone, which is what happened in this case shortly after Ellen took over. I don't really know whether this lawsuit will succeed for them, but I think what they're doing here is sending a huge signal that, one, the business is struggling. They need to do something out of it, too. They're clearly picking a fight with the broader ad industry right now. We're showing some more of the comments that Linda Carino made. It was interesting, you know, video posted to X, Elon Musk amplified it. I guess the context is that X has been suffering in terms of revenue or financially in the period since Musk took over and Linda Macarena was

appointed CEO because of this.
I'm trying to understand why they would take action.
Well, that's exactly right. They're saying that, look, this group
is, you know, collectively getting everyone riled up to intentionally hurt
ex's business. Now, I think what's sort of interesting
here is what does this ignore while this ignores Ellen's own behavior?
Right. Which we have talked about on the show
several times over the last couple of years.
Right. He you may recall, Ed late last year
went on stage at a conference and told advertisers to go f themselves.
Right. He has been very proactively aggressive
to certain advertisers over the years. And so while they are saying, well, hey,
look, this group is illegally creating this boycott, it doesn't take into
account the fact that some of this decision making may simply be because
people don't want to work with Ellen, given the things that he's done and said
to them.

Musk’s X Sues Group Over Ad Boycott That Cost Billions

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Bloomberg Technology

Linda Carino, CEO of EX, announced a lawsuit against an industry group for an alleged illegal boycott that cost ICS billions of dollars.

The lawsuit accuses the group of violating antitrust laws through anti-competitive behavior.

The industry trade group is accused of advising its members to boycott spending on ICS, leading to a significant financial impact on the company.

Boycotts are a common way for consumers and businesses to express their dissatisfaction, as seen in the case of Ellen's takeover.

The lawsuit filed indicates the struggling state of the business and its attempt to challenge the advertising industry.

The company's financial difficulties have been amplified since Elon Musk's involvement, leading to a significant impact on their revenue.

Allegations of Intentional Business Harm and CEO Behavior

A group is accused of riling up others to intentionally hurt the ex's business, while ignoring the CEO's own aggressive behavior towards advertisers.

The CEO's past actions, including being openly hostile to advertisers, may be a driving factor in the boycott, regardless of the alleged illegal actions of the group.

The focus on the group's actions overlooks the possible impact of the CEO's behavior on others' willingness to work with the company.