Lawsuit says Facebook "knowingly provided material support and resources to Hamas" • "Facebook must be held accountable for its role in promoting the terrorist activities of Hamas," Shurat Hadin Director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner says.
Reuters, Yair Altman and Israel Hayom Staff
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
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Photo credit: AP |
A group of Israelis and Americans filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking $1 billion in damages from Facebook Inc. for allegedly facilitating deadly Palestinian terrorist attacks in which their loved ones were killed.
The plaintiffs, relatives of four Israeli-U.S. dual nationals and one visiting U.S. citizen who died in attacks in Israel between 2014 and 2016, accused Facebook of helping Hamas terrorists operate.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, argued that Facebook "knowingly provided material support and resources to Hamas ... [facilitating] this terrorist group's ability to communicate, recruit members, plan and carry out attacks and strike fear in its enemies."
The social media giant did not respond directly to the lawsuit but said it stood by its regulations for preventing abusive content and a company representative in Israel said the company wanted "people to feel safe" when using Facebook.
"There is no place for content encouraging violence, direct threats, terrorism or hate speech on Facebook. We have a set of Community Standards ... 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."
The private lawsuit follows censure from Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan over what he deemed Facebook's reluctance to help track potential Palestinian terrorists and curb incitement to violence. In response, Facebook defended its regulations against online abuse.
Hamas formally claimed responsibility for one of the attacks cited in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs' Israeli lawyer, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, said they had expert assessments linking Hamas to the other attacks.
Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the United States. The lawsuit was brought under the 1992 Anti-Terrorism Act that prohibits American businesses from providing any material support, including services, to designated terrorist groups and their leaders.
Darshan-Leitner, the director of Shurat Hadin Israel Law Center, filed a class action suit in October for an injunction against Facebook to stop carrying alleged Palestinian incitement. She said proceedings were still under way in that case.
Darshan-Leitner said, "Facebook must be held accountable for its role in promoting the terrorist activities of Hamas. ... [Hamas leader] Ismail Haniyeh is not allowed to open a U.S. bank account, shop on Amazon or use a U.S. mobile device. But somehow Facebook thinks it can provide social media services to Haniyeh and his terrorist friends.
"For too long, social media companies have been allowed to believe anti-terrorism laws don't apply to them, that they have unlimited immunity and can do whatever they want. We intend to put an end to this. Social media networks have become a vital component of international terrorism, like guns, bombs and money."
