In a surprising turn of events, Ørsted has found itself embroiled in a high-profile lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The legal action, which also targets other major companies and the World Federation of Advertisers, alleges a coordinated advertising boycott that X claims has cost the platform billions in revenue.
Filed in a federal court in Texas, the lawsuit accuses Ørsted, along with other companies including Unilever, Mars, and CVS Health, of participating in an unlawful conspiracy to withhold advertising spending from X. The platform argues that this collective action violates U.S. antitrust laws and has significantly impacted its ability to compete in the digital advertising market.
X’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, stated, “People are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is constricted. No small group of people should be able to monopolise what gets monetised.” She further claimed that the alleged boycott threatened the company’s “ability to thrive in the future.”
A Message to X Users pic.twitter.com/6bZOYPhWVa
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) August 6, 2024
According to an article by BBC, legal experts have suggested the case is unlikely to succeed. One of the quoted experts is Bill Baer, who was assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice’s antitrust division under former US president Barack Obama. According to Baer, “As a general rule, a politically motivated boycott is not an antitrust violation. It is protected speech under our First Amendment.”.
So far, there has been no public comment on the matter from Ørsted.
Source: X, Reuters, BBC.