Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced an investigation into the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) to determine whether its members conspired to boycott "certain social media platforms." While the press release doesn't name specific platforms, one of them is likely Elon Musk's X, which filed an antitrust lawsuit against the WFA in August, alleging a "systematic illegal boycott" of the platform.

The investigation comes after several major brands, including IBM, The Coca-Cola Company, and CVS Health, significantly reduced their advertising spend on X following Elon Musk's takeover of the company. The exodus of advertisers accelerated in November 2023, following reports that suggested X had failed to moderate its platform and remove illegal or hateful content. A White House spokesperson condemned Elon Musk for one of his personal posts, which it called "antisemitic and racist."

X has since sued many advertisers and ad groups, claiming that these global brands were not reducing their ad spend based on individual decisions, but instead collectively conspiring to withhold billions of dollars in revenue from X. Now, it appears that Texas' AG is bringing an investigation of his own. "Trade organizations and companies cannot collude to block advertising revenue from entities they wish to undermine," said Paxton in the press release.

The AG's investigation is particularly focused on the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a since-discontinued, not-for-profit organization within the WFA. GARM was a US-based group founded in 2019 that included some of the country's largest advertisers, creating frameworks and definitions for companies to understand hate speech, brand safety, and misinformation. The investigation asks for documents and information from GARM that could reveal whether it told brands to boycott certain social media platforms that violated its brand safety standards.

A July report from the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee looking into GARM's practices found that through GARM, large corporations, advertising agencies, and industry associations participated in boycotts and other coordinated action to demonetize platforms, podcasts, news outlets, and other content deemed disfavored by GARM and its members. This collusion can have the effect of eliminating a variety of content and viewpoints available to consumers.

GARM closed its doors in August, shortly after X sued, noting that it did not have the resources or finances to continue operating. In the months leading up to this investigation, some advertisers have actually resumed ad spending on X, though at much lower rates than before. Comcast, IBM, Disney, and other major brands reportedly returned to Musk's platform this year. Furthermore, X announced in October that it reached an agreement with Unilever to resume its ad spending, and that the social media platform would drop its claims against Unilever, which X previously named as one of the companies that participated in the alleged boycott.

Elon Musk responded to Paxton's Thursday post on X about the advertiser investigation, saying, "It's still a major problem." X and the World Federation of Advertisers did not immediately respond to TechCrunch's request for comment. The investigation marks a significant development in the ongoing battle between social media platforms and advertisers, with potential implications for the future of online advertising and free speech.

The Texas Attorney General's investigation serves as a reminder that the relationship between social media platforms and advertisers is complex and multifaceted. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, it's essential to ensure that companies are not colluding to stifle competition or suppress certain viewpoints. The outcome of this investigation will likely have far-reaching consequences for the tech industry and beyond.