Thousands Of Israelis Sue Facebook For Failing To Take Down Anti-Semitic, Violent Posts
STUDIO CITY (CBSLA.com) — Thousands of Israelis are suing Facebook, claiming the site does not do enough to remove anti-Semitic and pro-violence Facebook posts that can reach and influence a vast audience of followers.
The plaintiffs say Facebook posts are helping fuel a recent wave of violence against Jews in Israel.
The Israel Law Center is representing about 20,000 people -- most of them Israelis -- in the suit. The plaintiffs include Micah Lakin Avni, whose 76-year-old father, Richard Lakin, died after sustaining major injuries in a Palestinian bus attack in Jerusalem earlier this month. Lakin was an American peace activist living in Israel teaching English to mixed classes of Muslims and Jews.
The group hopes to win an injunction to force Facebook to remove pages that promote terrorism. The suit does not seek monetary damages.
"Facebook has become the hub for inciting terrorism," said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of the Israel Law Center. "If they don't take down the post that are calling the incitement and just let them go free on their pages... This is an irresponsible act."
The group has collected a number of examples of content it would like to be removed, including a picture of a star of David with a knife through it. The knife is gripped by a hand with the thumb up -- the Facebook 'Like' sympbol. There are also graphic photos showing people where to stab people to kill them.
Facebook has said the suit is without merit and that the site "encourages people to use reporting tools if they find content they believe violates standards."
