GOP House Members Raise Antitrust Concerns Over Musk's X

Some Republican House members have warned X Corp. owner Elon Musk that the organization he chose to develop "brand safety" for his social media platform may violate antitrust laws through censorship.

The Washington Examiner reported Tuesday that two groups that the House Judiciary Committee is currently probing for "coordinated efforts to demonetize and censor disfavored speech online" are also developing policies for X, formerly known as Twitter, to maintain its "brand safety."

Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, subpoenaed the heads of the World Federation of Advertisers marketing association as well as its Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) initiative in May for records, saying the groups "may violate U.S. antitrust law."

"At its best, Elon Musk's Twitter has supported free speech and free expression, while revealing the extent the company's previous management deplatformed conservatives and worked with Democrat special interests to censor free speech it didn't like," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who sits on the committee, told the news outlet. "It will be unfortunate if the future of X is one that deviates from this standard and adopts the culture of 'content moderation' that has done so much damage."

X announced Aug. 8 that it would be following the GARM framework to increase its "brand security," providing advertisers a platform they can connect to safely.

"On X, people are free to be their true selves," the company said in a press release. "And over the past 9 months, X has delivered a decade's worth of innovation focused on creating an engaging and healthy environment where everyone, including advertisers, can connect safely. We believe free expression and platform safety are not at odds and we want to empower brands to join the conversation on their terms."

The GARM framework adopts "common definitions" that can categorize "harmful content" in 11 key areas that can stop harmful content from being monetized, the group said in its document outlining the framework.

"GARM is an industry-first effort that unites marketers, media agencies, media platforms, and industry associations to safeguard the potential of digital media by reducing the availability and monetization of harmful content online," the organization's brand safety framework document said.

"These steps are essential to create a safer digital media environment that enriches society through content, communications, and commerce," the document added. "Harmful content and its creators threaten the potential for digital media and disrupt the connections everyone seeks. Our first step in safeguarding the positive potential for digital is to provide platforms, agencies, and marketers with the framework with which to define safe and harmful content online."