Family of US student killed in Paris attacks sues social media companies

Reynaldo Gonzalez, whose daughter Nohemi was among the 130 people killed in the Paris attacks last November, filed his lawsuit Tuesday in the US District Court in the Northern District of California.

Without 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.

Reynaldo Gonzalez, Nohemi’s father, claim that such companies grant the terror group “material support” as the basis for suing Facebook and Google’s YouTube.

Twitter is facing another similar lawsuit.

Gonzalez, 23, of El Monte, California, a student at California State University-Long Beach, was among 130 people who were killed November 13 in coordinated attacks across Paris. She was killed while eating with friends at a popular Paris bistro – La Belle Equipe. She was in Paris studying at a design school.

Twitter also cited its policy: “Teams around the world actively investigating reports of rule violations, identifying violating conduct, and working with law enforcement entities when appropriate”.

The family of a victim caught up in the Paris terror attacks are suing Facebook, Google and Twitter, alleging the companies provided “material support” to the Islamic State and other extremist groups.

The Press-Telegram wrote that both Google and Facebook released statements saying their companies have clear polices that prohibit activity from terrorists or their supporters and that such material is removed once flagged.

The lawyer representing the family, Michigan-based Keith Altman of Excolo Law, said this case is not about free speech, but about creating communication conduits that allow ISIS and other terror groups to plan, coordinate and execute terror attacks.

But that protection may not safeguard the companies from Gonzalez’s lawsuit.

The lawsuit said the companies had rebuffed requests by the US government and the public to stop providing services to Islamic State.

The free and open networks created by Silicon Valley’s social media companies have led those same companies into a battle with terrorism and violent extremism. He’s also seeking unspecified damages.

Twitter, another social media platform which Gonzalez is suing, said it “strongly condemns the ongoing acts of violence for which ISIS claims credit”, also via email. Google has made a significant amount of ad revenue from monetized videos posted by ISIS declaring their hateful messages and even depicting gruesome beheadings.

But he told AP Twitter the causal link between the alleged support for extremists and the attack was very weak.