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The judge overseeing X’s lawsuit against the advertiser recused himself after news reports revealed that he owned X stock. Tesla.
In an August 13 recusal notice, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas withdrew from a case filed last week by X against the World Federation of Advertisers. The judge did not say why he withdrew from the proceedings.
X, formerly Twitter, is owned by Elon Musk, who is also the CEO and largest shareholder of Tesla. on Monday, Reported by National Public Radio O’Connor held Tesla stock in 2022, the date of his last disclosure, which constituted a potential conflict of interest.
A call seeking comment from the court clerk was not immediately returned.
In X’s lawsuit, the company alleged that some advertisers engaged in antitrust conduct when they stopped advertising campaigns on the site. Companies named include Europe’s Unilever, Mars, CVS Healthcare and Orsted.
In response to the lawsuit, the WFA said it would suspend operations of its Global Alliance for Responsible Media nonprofit program.
Ed Kinkeade, the new judge presiding over the case, issued an order Tuesday saying either side would need to justify every request to the court to seal the filings from the public. See.
O’Connor is a former aide to Texas Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and a former federal prosecutor in North Texas. He currently remains a judge in a separate lawsuit brought by Report.
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