Father Of Woman Killed In Paris Terror Attacks Sues Social Media Sites
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The father of a Cal State Long Beach student killed in the Paris terrorist attacks is suing Twitter, Facebook and Google, which owns YouTube.
Nohemi Gonzalez, 23, of El Monte was the only American killed in the November 2015 shootings that left 130 people dead.
The plaintiff filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday in Northern California, claiming the social media sites have allowed terrorist groups, such as ISIS, to use their networks to spread extremist propaganda, raise money and recruit fighters.
"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 stated.
"This material support has been instrumental to the rise of ISIS and has enabled it to carry out numerous terrorist attacks, including the Nov. 13, 2015, attacks in Paris where more than 125 were killed, including Nohemi Gonzalez," according to court documents.
The suit also noted that as of December 2014, ISIS had about 70,000 Twitter accounts, at least 79 of which were "official," and it posted "at least 90 tweets every minute."
"As with Twitter, ISIS has used Google (YouTube) and Facebook in a similar manner," according to the court document.
There was no immediate response to requests for comment from Twitter, Facebook and Google.
Gonzalez was a senior majoring in industrial design at CSULB. She was among 17 students attending Strate College of Design in Paris as part of a semester-abroad program. She was killed while eating with friends at a popular Paris bistro, La Belle Equipe.