Families of Oct. 7 Victims Sue Meta for Over $1 Billion
Translated & summarized from Mako by baba
Families of victims from the October 7th Hamas attacks have filed a lawsuit against Meta, seeking over 4 billion shekels for alleged negligence in removing graphic videos of the atrocities. One family member discovered a video of her grandmother's murder on Facebook, highlighting the platform's slow response. The lawsuit aims to prevent future incidents by holding Meta accountable for content moderation failures. Meta stated they have dedicated teams working to remove violating content.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Families of October 7 victims are suing Meta for over 4 billion shekels.
- The lawsuit alleges Meta failed to remove graphic videos of Hamas atrocities promptly.
- One victim's family discovered a video of her murder on her Facebook page.
- Plaintiffs seek to prevent future incidents through improved content moderation.
- Meta claims dedicated teams worked to remove content violating their policies.
Families of victims from the October 7th Hamas attacks are suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for over 4 billion shekels (approximately $1.1 billion USD). The lawsuit alleges that Meta failed to adequately prevent the spread of graphic videos depicting the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists, many of which were uploaded by the perpetrators themselves onto Meta's platforms.
One plaintiff, Mor Bayda, described the horrific experience of discovering a video on her grandmother Bracha Levinson's Facebook page showing Hamas terrorists murdering her in her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Bayda recounted how the terrorists filmed the act with her grandmother's phone and uploaded it to her Facebook wall. "This isn't some horror series, it's not a movie, it's my grandmother, my grandmother who was murdered," Bayda stated, expressing her pain and frustration.
The families claim that Meta's response was too slow, with pages and content remaining online for extended periods, sometimes up to a day, despite repeated attempts to have them removed. Bayda noted that their efforts to block and report the content were initially unsuccessful, with no response from the platform. The lawsuit aims not only for compensation but also to compel Meta to implement better mechanisms for content moderation and trigger warnings to prevent future occurrences.
Lawyer Gali Kerner, representing the affected families, accused Meta of failing in its responsibility to users, stating that they expected a safe environment free from violence, not a platform for Hamas propaganda. Kerner demanded that Meta develop advanced filtering and control mechanisms to prevent the dissemination of such violent content.
During a court hearing, mediation was proposed. Meta responded by stating their commitment to removing content that violates their policies, particularly regarding Hamas, and that dedicated teams worked around the clock after the attacks to remove prohibited content. However, the families maintain that the content remains accessible online indefinitely, and their fight is for future prevention rather than solely for compensation.
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