Rumble Joins X to Sue Advertising Cartel that Allegedly Conspired to Withhold Digital Advertising Revenue
LONGBOAT KEY, Fla., Aug. 06, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM), the video-sharing platform and cloud services provider, announced that it has joined the social media platform X to file antitrust lawsuits alleging a conspiracy to withhold advertising revenue from Rumble and other digital media platforms.
In its filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Rumble named as defendants the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), as well as the advertising agency WPP and its subsidiary GroupM Worldwide.
The conspiracy centers around an initiative called the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), created by the WFA, that established arbitrary standards for the content on digital platforms where its members may want to advertise. GARM used those one-size-fits-all standards to perpetrate an advertiser boycott against Rumble and other platforms. The suit also notes that GARM has vast reach since it counts the six largest ad agency holding companies among its members, including defendant WPP.
"The brand safety standards set by advertisers and their ad agencies should succeed or fail in the marketplace on their own merits and not through the coercive exercise of market power," Rumble's complaint reads. "All of this illegal conduct is done at the expense of platforms, content creators, and their users, as well as the agencies' own advertiser clients who pay more for ads as a result of their collusion."
The unlawful conduct alleged by Rumble is also the subject of an ongoing investigation by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee in Congress. An interim committee staff report issued in July found that the way GARM has operated in this regard "is likely illegal under the antitrust laws and threatens fundamental American freedoms."
Rumble is seeking a declaration that the defendants' conduct is illegal, a permanent injunction against the continued conduct, damages, interest, and legal fees, among other relief.
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Rumble is a high-growth video platform and cloud services provider that is creating an independent infrastructure. Rumble's mission is to restore the internet to its roots by making it free and open once again. For more information, visit: corp.rumble.com.
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