An Israeli legal group filed a lawsuit in New York City federal court Sunday that accuses Facebook of facilitating terrorism.
Attorneys with Shurat Hadin brought the $1 billion claim on behalf of five families who lost loved ones overseas as a result of attacks attributed to Hamas, a Palestinian group considered a terrorist organization in the U.S.
The lawsuit alleges that Hamas militants use the social network to communicate with one another and organize plots, and that Facebook should therefore be held to account.
According to the lawsuit, “Facebook has knowingly provided material support and resources to Hamas in the form of Facebook’s online social network platform and communication services.”
“For way too long, the social media companies have been allowed to believe that the anti-terrorism laws do not apply to them, that they have blanket immunity and they can do whatever they please,” lead Shurat Hadin attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner told ABC News. “Social media, however, has become a necessary component of international terrorism, the same as guns, explosives and money.”
“Simply put, Hamas uses Facebook as a tool for engaging in terrorism,” the lawsuit reads.
As alleged in the suit, Facebook violated the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act by allowing Hamas members to use a service that’s said to have aided with “recruiting, radicalizing, and instructing terrorists, raising funds, creating fear and carrying out attacks.”
The suit says Facebook’s conduct has been “intentional and malicious,” and should be ordered to pay “compensatory damages” to the five families totaling at least $1 billion.
Facebook did not immediately comment on the lawsuit specifically, but said in a statement its users should “feel safe” while using its services.
“There is no place for content encouraging violence, direct threats, terrorism or hate speech on Facebook,” the company said. “We have a set of Community Standards to help people understand what is allowed on Facebook, and we urge people to use our reporting tools if they find content that they believe violates our standards so we can investigate and take swift action.”
Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas leader, told Bloomberg that “suing Facebook clearly shows the American policy of fighting freedom of the press and expression” and further demonstrates the animosity against the organization and “its just cause.”
Thirty-four Israelis and two American tourists have been killed since September in Palestinian attacks, The Los Angeles Times reported. The five families represented in the lawsuit lost relatives during the last two years, including four dual Israeli-U.S. citizens and an American tourist.
A similar lawsuit was filed in January against Twitter on behalf of a woman who said the internet company did nothing to keep Islamic State terrorists off its services and should be held accountable for the death of her husband, a contractor killed in Jordan during a 2015 attack waged by the group. A federal judge said he was going to dismiss the suit last month, and ruled at the time that he couldn’t find any causation to charge Twitter under the same antiterrorism act.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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