Republicans take victory lap after ad industry group disbands following GOP pressure, Elon Musk suit

Republicans in the House Judiciary Committee are celebrating on Thursday after claiming that an advertising consortium they claimed was sabotaging conservative outlets and social media platforms, known as GARM (Global Alliance for Responsible Media), is "discontinuing."

"Big win for the First Amendment. Big win for oversight," said the House Judiciary GOP in an X post. The account shortly after recounted steps taken to put pressure on the group, saying it "sent demand letters to over 40 companies about GARM's collusive practices (...) produced a major report on GARM's harm" and "had an incredible heading with Ben Shapiro on the subject."

Business Insider reported that the decision also comes as Elon Musk's X also filed an antitrust lawsuit against the organization, although the World Federation of Advertisers, of which GARM is a part, said it plans to meet Musk in court and is confident in its compliance.

Republicans in the House Judiciary Committee increased pressure on the organization last week, with Chair Jim Jordan seeking documents from dozens of major companies in the U.S. that were part of it.

The document, sent to companies including Adidas, McDonalds, Goldman Sachs and Redbull, said it had learned that GARM and its member companies have engaged in "coordinated action" including "boycotts of disfavored social media platforms, podcasts and news outlets."

It named The Joe Rogan Experience, The Daily Wire, Breitbart News, Fox News "or other conservative media" as examples of outlets that were targeted by these "coordinated actions," and asks the companies whether they were aware of and support them.

The New York Post reported that GARM exerted "control of some 90% of global marketing spending" and has been directing the funding for political purposes. The organization said that it created frameworks to provide common definitions around concepts like hate speech, brand safety and misinformation. It didn't advise companies on where or how to spend their budgets.

However, the House Judiciary Committee said GARM "has deviated far from its original intent, and has collectively used its immense market power to demonetize voices and viewpoints the group disagrees with."

And X claimed in its lawsuit that GARM's members colluded to "collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue" from the company, as its advertising revenue plunged after Musk's takeover.

In this context, Business Insider reported, WFA CEO Stephan Loerke sent an email to members saying that the decision to put an end to the consortium was "not made lightly" but that GARM is a nonprofit with limited resources. The company will still face X in the courts, its resources strained by the legal challenges, considering it has two full-time staffers.