Victims' families sue Facebook for $1 billion over Palestinian attacks

Israeli and American families of victims of Palestinian attacks filed a $1-billion lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the social network is providing a platform for militants to spread incitement and violence, their lawyers said. Shurat Hadin, an Israeli legal advocacy group, filed the suit on behalf of the five families in a New York court, alleging that Facebook is violating the US Anti-Terrorism Act by providing a service to militant groups that assists them in “recruiting, radicalizing, and instructing terrorists, raising funds, creating fear and carrying out attacks.” The lawsuit focuses on the Islamic militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and which has fought three wars against Israel since the Palestinian group overran the coastal territory in 2007.

The five families in the lawsuit lost relatives in attacks over the last two years. “Facebook can't sit in its stone tower in Palo Alto while blood is being spilled here on the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It has a social responsibility. It can't serve as a social network for Hamas,” said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the Israeli lawyer who is representing the families. She compared Facebook to a bank, saying that just as money may be transferred as a service for terror groups, so can content.