The advertising industry is in shock after the World Federation of Advertisers, or WFA, said it would discontinue the operations of its unit focused on brand safety: the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM). The move comes a few days only after Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, initiated legal action against GARM, alleging the organization orchestrated an illegal advertising boycott.
What was GARM?
GARM, founded in 2019, aimed to be a platform for advertisers to ensure their brands weren’t associated with harmful content. They developed frameworks to address issues like hate speech, misinformation, and brand safety.
“Since its launch, GARM has enhanced transparency in ad placements on digital social media by providing voluntary and pro-competitive tools for the advertising industry. These tools provide information to help advertisers avoid inadvertently supporting harmful and illegal content, reducing such ads from 6.1% in 2020 to 1.7% in 2023,” stated the WFA in its statement.
X’s lawsuit and GARM’s dissolution
X’s lawsuit targeted GARM’s parent organization, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), and some of its members, including Unilever and Mars. The suit alleged that the WFA engaged in anticompetitive behavior and organized an advertising boycott that ultimately damaged X’s financial health.
“GARM is a small, not-for-profit initiative, and recent allegations that unfortunately misconstrue its purpose and activities have caused a distraction and significantly drained its resources and finances. GARM therefore is making the difficult decision to discontinue its activities,” said the WFA.
Musk’s history of litigation: silencing critics?
Following Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022, a number of advertisers stopped their campaigns due to, according to civil rights and other groups, an increase in hate speech and problematic content on the platform.
Since then, the platform has sued various watchdog organizations such as Media Matters and the Center for Countering Digital Hate, or CCDH.
A more contentious advertising landscape?
With GARM gone, advertisers face a more ambiguous landscape. X CEO Linda Yaccarino sees this as an opportunity for reform: “This is an important acknowledgement and a necessary step in the right direction. I am hopeful that it means ecosystem-wide reform is coming.” Others fear a return to “anything goes” on social media. Brands might be caught between competing interests – free speech advocates and those concerned about online safety.
