The families of three victims in last June’s Orlando nightclub shooting filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday accusing Twitter, Facebook and Google of providing “material support” to the Islamic State by allowing the terrorist organization to open social media accounts to help “spread extremist propaganda, raise funds and attract new recruits.”
The families of Tevin Crosby, Javier Jorge-Reyes and Juan Ramon Guerrero filed the complaint in the Eastern District of Michigan, arguing the three companies aided in the radicalization of shooter Omar Mateen.
“Without defendants Twitter, Facebook, and Google (YouTube), the explosive growth of ISIS over the last few years into the most feared terrorist group in the world would not have been possible,” the lawsuit states.
Mateen, 29, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State minutes before opening fire on more than 100 people at the Pulse Nightclub in downtown Orlando, killing 49 and wounding 53 others. Mateen was not a member of the organization but was motivated by videos and propaganda he had found on the three social media sites.
“Mateen was radicalized by ISIS using the defendants’ tools for that express purpose,” Keith Altman, the attorney representing the families, told FoxNews.com.
The suit calls into question how the Communications Decency Act of 1996, Section 230, is interpreted. The law states: “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”
These channels have previously pledged to delete accounts and content that is pro-Islamic State. The companies do not view themselves as liable for the attack because they do not produce the content, Altman argued.
“The defendants create unique content by matching ISIS postings with advertisements based upon information known about the viewer,” Altman said. “Furthermore, the defendants finance ISIS’s activities by sharing advertising revenue.”
