Elon Musk’s X settles multiyear legal battle with the World Federation of Advertisers

埃隆·马斯克旗下的 X 平台与世界广告主联合会达成和解，结束多年法律纠纷

Elon Musk’s X has settled its multiyear legal battle with advertising trade group the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), the two organizations said on Wednesday. The settlement ends Musk’s aggressive attempt to hold advertisers legally responsible for pulling spending from X over brand safety concerns. 埃隆·马斯克旗下的 X 平台与广告行业组织“世界广告主联合会”（WFA）于周三共同宣布，双方已就持续多年的法律纠纷达成和解。此次和解标志着马斯克试图追究广告商因品牌安全顾虑而撤资的法律责任的激进尝试宣告结束。

X sued the WFA in 2024 for conducting what it called a “systematic illegal boycott” of the platform after it saw a decline in advertising revenue following Musk’s $44 billion takeover of the social network in 2022. Companies X accused of doing so included Mars, CVS Health, Shell, Lego, and more. The advertisers rejected the allegations and argued that brands are free to decide where to spend their advertising dollars. 2024 年，X 对 WFA 提起诉讼，指控其对平台进行了所谓的“系统性非法抵制”。此前，在马斯克于 2022 年以 440 亿美元收购该社交网络后，X 的广告收入出现了下滑。X 指控的对象包括玛氏（Mars）、CVS Health、壳牌（Shell）、乐高（Lego）等多家公司。广告商们否认了这些指控，并辩称品牌有权自由决定广告预算的投放去向。

A federal court dismissed the lawsuit in March after a judge said X had failed to demonstrate that it had suffered any harm under federal competition laws. X had appealed the decision in April. 今年 3 月，一家联邦法院驳回了该诉讼，法官认为 X 未能证明其在联邦竞争法下遭受了任何损害。X 随后于 4 月对该裁决提起了上诉。

“Today the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and X Corp. are putting the litigation involving the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) behind them,” the joint statement reads. “This resets the relationship between the two organizations.” “今天，世界广告主联合会（WFA）与 X 公司决定将涉及‘全球负责任媒体联盟’（GARM）的诉讼抛在身后，”联合声明中写道，“这重置了两个组织之间的关系。”

X had alleged that advertisers reduced their spending because of guidelines developed by the WFA’s Global Alliance for Responsible Media, a coalition of brands and advertising agencies that was established to develop standards aimed at preventing ads from being displayed alongside harmful online content. Advertisers were concerned that their brands would appear alongside harmful content on the social network after Musk overhauled the platform’s content moderation policies. X 此前指控称，广告商减少支出是因为 WFA 旗下的“全球负责任媒体联盟”（GARM）制定了相关准则。该联盟由多个品牌和广告代理商组成，旨在制定标准，防止广告出现在有害的在线内容旁边。在马斯克彻底改革该平台的审核政策后，广告商们担心其品牌会出现在该社交网络上的有害内容旁。

“WFA reiterates its commitment to freedom of speech, a principle first included in WFA’s founding constitution back in 1953, and a principle it shares with X,” the statement reads. “On August 9, 2024, WFA discontinued GARM. WFA will not form or restart GARM or a similar initiative. WFA and X are fully aligned in the view that brands, platforms, and consumers will all benefit from brand-safety innovation.” “WFA 重申其对言论自由的承诺，这一原则早在 1953 年 WFA 成立之初就已写入章程，这也是 WFA 与 X 共同秉持的原则，”声明写道，“2024 年 8 月 9 日，WFA 停止了 GARM 的运作。WFA 将不会组建或重启 GARM 或类似的倡议。WFA 和 X 完全一致地认为，品牌、平台和消费者都将从品牌安全创新中受益。”

The lawsuit wasn’t the only time Musk clashed with advertisers. After acquiring X, he told advertisers who paused spending on the platform to “go f*** yourself.” 这并非马斯克首次与广告商发生冲突。在收购 X 后，他曾公开对那些暂停在平台上投放广告的广告商说：“去你的。”