The news: Advertisers are seeking dismissal of X’s lawsuit claiming that major brands participating in and associated with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) organized an advertising boycott of the platform in violation of antitrust law after Elon Musk purchased it in 2022, per Reuters.

• According to the document submitted last Wednesday, the defendants argued that even if the lawsuit’s claims were factual, they would not establish evidence of a coordinated effort to withhold advertising revenues from X.
• The submission contended that "antitrust law does not require advertisers to keep doing business with a platform that degrades the quality of its service,” further noting that antitrust principles “[don’t] presume an illegal conspiracy when advertisers make rational, independent business decisions.”
• The defense pointed out that just 18 of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media's (GARM) over 100 members withdrew advertising from X, arguing that even politically-motivated advertising choices are protected by First Amendment rights and not subject to antitrust scrutiny.

Zooming out: X is claiming that the targeted boycott led to the platform becoming “a less effective competitor to other social media platforms in the sale of digital advertising and in competing for user engagement on its platform.” GARM ended its operations in response to the initial lawsuit as it did not have the resources to fight the case.