Internet firms sued by families

Pulse victims name YouTube, Twitter, Google

Family members of three men killed in the Pulse nightclub attack are suing Twitter, Facebook and Google, claiming that the social media companies allowed the Islamic State to post propaganda and push its agenda, and saying that they are seeking justice for their loved ones.

The suit was filed Monday in a federal court in eastern Michigan on behalf of the families of Tevin Crosby, 25; Javier JorgeReyes, 40; and Juan Guerrero, 22. Crosby was a Michigan native, and JorgeReyes has a sister who lives there.

The three men were among the 49 people killed when Omar Mateen opened fire June 12 in the nightclub. In conversations with police that night, Mateen pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State.

In the lawsuit, attorney Keith Altman allege that the Islamic State is “dependent of Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to terrorize,” and that the group uses the social media platforms to recruit and spread its message. Google owns YouTube.

“I think public opinion will simply not tolerate these companies taking this laissez-faire attitude anymore,” said Altman, of the Michigan firm 1-800LAW-FIRM.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages, though it does not specify how much.

“But the money is a secondary issue,” Altman said. “This is about other families not having to bury their loved ones.”

Yazmin Jorge-Reyes, the sister of Javier Jorge-Reyes, said she did not want to talk about the lawsuit in detail because of the ongoing legal process.

“We need justice,” she said.

The firm also filed a similar suit on behalf of the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, an American killed in the November 2015 ISIS attacks in Paris. Some of the wording in the two complaints is identical. That case has not yet been resolved.

The lawsuit faces a num-