FTC nearing X ad‑boycott settlements

The Federal Trade Commission said Monday it is negotiating settlements in its ad-boycott investigation, including claims tied to Elon Musk’s platform X. (news.bloomberglaw.com) Federal Trade Commission lawyer Thomas Byron told the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that the agency expects public announcements “soon.” He made the disclosure while arguing to revive a civil investigative demand sent to Media Matters for America. (news.bloomberglaw.com, ftc.gov) The Federal Trade Commission’s May 20, 2025 demand to Media Matters was part of a broader inquiry into whether companies or groups coordinated to withhold, raise the cost of, or reduce advertising on media platforms. In a public order, the agency said 17 civil investigative demands were still outstanding when it denied Media Matters’ bid to quash the request. (ftc.gov) At the center of the case is a basic antitrust question: companies can choose where to place ads on their own, but an agreement among rivals to cut off a platform can draw scrutiny as a group boycott. The Federal Trade Commission said its inquiry covers possible collusion under Section 1 of the Sherman Act and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. (ftc.gov) The investigation grew out of the fight over “brand safety,” the ad industry’s term for keeping ads away from violent, extremist, or otherwise harmful material. The World Federation of Advertisers said its Global Alliance for Responsible Media was created in 2019 after the Christchurch massacre and was meant to give brands voluntary tools for digital safety. (wfanet.org) The World Federation of Advertisers said those tools helped reduce ads appearing next to harmful content from 6.1% in 2020 to 1.7% in 2023. It shut down the Global Alliance for Responsible Media on August 9, 2024, saying the allegations against the initiative had drained its resources and finances. (wfanet.org) X turned that dispute into litigation in August 2024, suing the World Federation of Advertisers and several brands in federal court in Texas and alleging a coordinated boycott that cost the company billions in ad revenue. A CourtListener docket lists the case as filed on August 6, 2024. (courtlistener.com, courthousenews.com) That private case hit a setback on March 26, 2026, when United States District Judge Jane Boyle dismissed X’s antitrust suit, ruling that X had not shown the advertisers caused a cognizable antitrust injury. Reuters reported that the defendants included Mars, CVS Health, and Colgate-Palmolive. (cnbc.com, reuters.com) Media Matters is fighting the Federal Trade Commission on a separate track. A lower court blocked the agency’s demand last year after finding it likely amounted to retaliation for speech, and Byron told the appeals court Monday that the agency’s investigation is “not retaliatory” but a “serious investigation into collusive conduct.” (news.bloomberglaw.com) The next step is whether the Federal Trade Commission turns those talks into signed settlements and closes out part of the case it has spent the past year building. The court fight over Media Matters, and the wider clash over who sets ad-safety rules online, is still moving. (news.bloomberglaw.com, ftc.gov)