Elon Musk's X and the World Federation of Advertisers announced Wednesday they have ended the litigation over GARM, the brand-safety coalition X blamed for its post-takeover ad slump. WFA shut GARM down in August 2024 and has now committed in writing that it will not rebuild it or start anything comparable, alongside a restatement of the free-speech language in its 1953 founding constitution. X sued in 2024 over what it called a systematic illegal boycott, naming Mars, CVS Health, Shell, and Lego among the advertisers that cut spending, all of whom argued brands get to choose where their money goes. That case collapsed in March when a federal judge found X had shown no harm under competition law, and X appealed in April, so the settlement closes a case X was losing while still extracting the pledge it wanted. Neither side disclosed terms.
