US Court Rejects X Corp’s Antitrust Claim Against Advertisers

On March 26, 2026, a US federal judge in Dallas dismissed X Corp’s antitrust lawsuit against several major advertisers, including Mars, CVS Health, and Colgate-Palmolive, as well as the World Federation of Advertisers. The lawsuit, filed in 2024, alleged that these advertisers collectively boycotted X Corp, formerly known as Twitter, resulting in billions of dollars in lost advertising revenue. X claimed that the boycott was orchestrated as part of a conspiracy against the social media platform, which they argued violated US antitrust laws. However, US District Judge Jane Boyle ruled that X Corp failed to demonstrate any harm under federal antitrust law and that the alleged coordinated action was not proven. The advertisers had defended themselves by stating that their decisions to place ads on competing platforms were independent business choices, primarily motivated by concerns over brand safety after Elon Musk’s 2022 takeover of X, which included staff reductions affecting content moderation. Judge Boyle dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning X cannot refile the same claim. The ruling marks a significant legal setback for Musk’s company in its efforts to challenge advertiser behavior and underscores the difficulty of proving coordinated economic harm in antitrust litigation in the US.