Facebook sued for $1 Billion, lawsuit claims they support terrorism

The families of five American victims in terrorist attacks in Israel have filed suit against Facebook. The lawsuit, reported first by Bloomberg, claims the company should be held liable for providing a platform for Hamas. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel, and the European Union.

From the Lawsuit:

“Facebook has knowingly provided material support and resources to Hamas in the form of Facebook’s online social network and communication services.”

“Hamas has used and relied on Facebook’s online social network platform and communications services as among its most important tools to facilitate and carry out its terrorist activity, including the terrorist attacks in which Hamas murdered and injured victims and their families in this case.”

“For years, Hamas, its leaders, spokesmen and members have openly maintained and used official Facebook accounts with little or no interference.”

According to the lawsuit, Hamas used Facebook to share tactical information and share operation information with its members, posting instructions on how to carry out attacks.

One of the victims was 16-year-old U.S. citizen Yaakov Naftali Fraenkel, killed in June 2014. Another was 29-year old Taylor Force, an Army veteran, who was stabbed to death in March.

Lawyers say Facebook’s conduct was “intentional and malicious.” They’ve asked for at least $1 billion dollars plus punitive damages.

Facebook wants “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 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.” — Facebook response in Bloomberg Technology