Facebook says Intifada lawsuit “without merit”
Facebook and its co-founder Mark Zuckerberg are being sued for more than $1 billion in damages because they did not immediately remove a page on the social network calling for a Third Intifada against Israel.
Larry Klayman, a self-described “American citizen of Jewish origin” and activist in “matters concerning the security of Israel and all people,” filed the lawsuit in Washington, D.C. on March 31, claiming Facebook showed gross negligence and recklessness by not responding quickly to appeals to take down the “Third Palestinian Intifada” page that called on Palestinians to take to the streets after Friday prayers on May 15. The page had been active for a couple of weeks and some of its 350,000 fans, including the administrators, had posted comments and YouTube clips encouraging the use of violence against Jews and Israel.
“While Facebook has accomplished a lot of good, it can, as in this instance, be used for nefarious and evil purposes,” said Klayman in the complaint. “Defendants Zuckerberg’s and Facebook’s callous and greedy actions in not taking down the page, but willfully allowing it to stay up for many days, has caused huge damage, for which they must be held accountable.”
The Israeli government and groups like the Anti-Defamation League had pressed for its removal early on, but Facebook did not pull the page until March 29, saying in a statement that though it started as a “call for peaceful protest,” the page had degenerated to “direct calls for violence” that violated Facebook policies.
But Klayman alleges Facebook only “begrudgingly” removed the page after the damage was done and his and other pro-Israel advocates’ lives had been put in danger. He argues Facebook owed him a “duty of care, which they violated and breached by allowing and furthering the death threats by the Third Palestinian Intifada, and related and similar sites.”
Facebook told the AFP the lawsuit is “without merit.”
“While we haven’t been served with the complaint, we believe the case is without merit and we will fight it vigorously,” a Facebook spokesperson said.
In the complaint Klayman also claims Zuckerberg kept the page up to boost revenues and grow membership of Facebook in the Middle East, citing Zuckerberg’s lack of “strong ethical and moral character” as depicted in the mostly fictional movie “The Social Network.” Zuckerberg has long maintained that he is misrepresented in the film.
Klayman, an attorney who founded both the controversial law firm Judicial Watch and the conservative advocacy group Freedom Watch, has sued numerous high-profile figures including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, former Vice President Dick Cheney, and Osama bin Laden, mostly unsuccessfully.
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