• by Wendy Davis , 5 hours ago

A federal judge has dismissed Rumble's ad-boycott lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers, WPP Media (formerly GroupM) and spirits marketer Diageo, ruling that courts in Texas lack jurisdiction over the dispute.

"None of the allegations that gave rise to this lawsuit occurred in Texas," U.S. District Court Judge Jane Boyle in Wichita Falls said Wednesday in a ruling throwing out the right-wing video platform's antitrust complaint.

The decision is without prejudice, meaning Rumble can file an amended complaint in another locale.

The ruling comes in a battle dating to August 2024, when Rumble sued the World Federation of Advertisers, WPP Media and Diageo for allegedly violating antitrust law by scheming to deprive the video platform of ad revenue. Rumble filed suit the same day Elon Musk's X Corp. sued the World Federation of Advertisers, its now defunct brand safety initiative Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and others over an alleged advertiser boycott.

"Both suits came soon after the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee issued a report accusing GARM of coordinating action by corporations, ad agencies and other industry groups in order to “demonetize platforms, podcasts, news outlets, and other content deemed disfavored by GARM and its members.”

Rumble alleged that the World Federation of Advertisers and others agreed to avoid placing ads on platforms that don't adopt GARM's “one-size-fits-all brand safety standards.”

The video platform specifically claimed that it attracted new users and content creators between 2020 and 2023, but didn't see a growth in ad revenue “commensurate to its growth in user popularity.”

In February, the World Federation of Advertisers and other defendants urged Boyle to throw out the complaint for several reasons -- including that Rumble's allegations regarding GroupM and Diageo, even if proven true, would only show that the companies decided separately to refrain from placing ads on Rumble.

The defendants also argued that courts in Texas lack jurisdiction over the suit, given that none of the parties to the suit are based in Texas. Rumble is based in Toronto and its U.S. division is based in Florida.

The World Federation of Advertisers is headquartered in Brussels, Diageo is based in England and WPP Media is based in New York.

Boyle only addressed whether the lawsuit belonged in Texas and didn't rule on whether the allegations, if proven true, would support an antitrust finding.

The World Federation of Advertisers shuttered GARM in August, days after Musk and Rumble sued. 

The trade organization has repeatedly said GARM's brand safety standards were voluntary, and that members were free to accept or reject those standards.