Facebook faces $1-billion suit over Palestinian attacks

Israeli and American families of victims of Palestinian attacks filed a $1-billion lawsuit against Facebook Inc., contending the social network is providing a platform for militants to spread incitement and violence, their lawyers said Monday.

Shurat Hadin, an Israeli legal advocacy group, filed the suit on behalf of the five families in a New York court late Sunday, alleging Facebook is violating the U.S. 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. Four of those killed were dual Israeli-American citizens and one was an American tourist.

“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.

Facebook had no immediate comment on the lawsuit, saying it had not yet received a copy. But in a statement it said people need to “feel safe” when using Facebook.

“There is no place for content encouraging violence, direct threats, terrorism or hate speech on Facebook,” it 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.”