Musk’s X to drop Twitch from ad boycott lawsuit

Elon Musk’s social media platform X has reached a tentative deal to drop its lawsuit against livestreaming platform Twitch, part of an ongoing legal battle over claims that several companies conspired to cut ad spending on X.

According to a court filing made on April 8 in Texas and reported by Reuters, X has signed a memorandum of understanding with Twitch that would see the lawsuit dismissed—provided Twitch meets certain unspecified conditions by the end of 2025.

Twitch, a subsidiary of Amazon, was among roughly a dozen companies named in the original antitrust suit filed by X last November. X had accused these firms, alongside the World Federation of Advertisers, of conspiring to orchestrate an advertising boycott that allegedly cost the platform billions in lost revenue.

This marks at least the second settlement in the case. Consumer goods giant Unilever was dropped from the lawsuit in October after X agreed to uphold “responsibility standards” ensuring brand safety. At the time, Unilever had cited concerns about ad placement next to inappropriate content as a reason for pulling back.

Ad spending on X has dipped significantly since Musk’s acquisition of the platform (then Twitter) in October 2022, with several brands expressing concern about content moderation under the new regime.

The lawsuit continues against other major advertisers including CVS, Pinterest, and Colgate-Palmolive, none of whom have publicly responded to the latest development.

Read More: Is your favourite influencer real? The blurring lines of authenticity in the age of AI