Terrorism Gone Viral by David Billet

Middle East Musings

Terrorism Gone Viral

By David Billett

In November of 2015, tragedy struck the heart of France as 130 men, women, and children were ruthlessly killed in a terror attack by ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). One of the victims was Nohemi Gonzalez, an American student studying abroad, who was dining with a group of friends at a restaurant in Paris. One may wonder how such a deadly attack could occurred.

Simply put, terrorists have tragically learned to exploit the fruits of Western ingenuity in an endless pursuit of Western destruction. Terrorist groups are actively utilizing social media sites to further their bloodthirsty activities, and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) limits the potential liability facing these companies. Section 230 of the CDA must be amended to not only deter terrorist activities, but to also ensure that all those who assist terrorists will be held liable.

In Gonzalez v. Google, Nohemi Gonzalez’s surviving family members sued Google for providing material support to ISIS and for providing ISIS with a tool with which they commit terrorism. They further argued that YouTube provided the terror group with a powerful mechanism to communicate with their members. Although the court recognized that Google knowingly assisted a terror group, it ultimately decided against acting since Google is not a publisher and it held that insufficient factual allegations were made by the Plaintiff.

The CDA was passed in 1996 and was primarily intended to help ensure the growth of the internet during its infancy and to protect innovation. In essence, the CDA’s Section 230 limits sites to spread hate-filled, violent messages and to recruit new members. Experts have also warned that certain internet platforms can help orchestrate terrorist operations, allowing terror groups to increase the effectiveness of their deadly attacks. While the internet rose to prominence in the 1990s, no one could have imagined the power-

Section 230 is acting as a shield for social media sites that have assisted known terrorists in extinguishing the lives of innocent men, women, and children around the world.

social media sites’ liability for content posted by third-party users. While both Republicans and Democrats alike have attacked Section 230 in recent years, the impact of Section 230 on terrorist activities has failed to attract the attention that it deserves.

In 2015, Professor Gabriel Weimann of Haifa University found that “ninety percent of terrorist activity on the internet takes place using social networking tools.” Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and ISIS have all utilized social media ful force that it would one day become. Even after terror groups have proven that they are determined to exploit social media sites for their own benefit, the laws and regulations in place today fail to effectively counter this behavior. In Force v. Facebook, the plaintiffs alleged that Facebook provided material support to Hamas, a U.S. designated terror group. In Force, the plaintiffs included the families of American citizens who were the victims of terrorist attacks in the Middle East between 2014 and 2016. Although the court recognized the plaintiffs’ argument and was sympathetic to their position, it ultimately held that the text of Section 230 prevented Facebook from facing liability. This case was recently solidified into caselaw as the Supreme Court rejected a petition to hear the case.

Section 230 is acting as a shield for social media sites that have assisted known terrorists in extinguishing the lives of innocent men, women, and children around the world. Recognized terror groups are actively using social media sites to recruit new members, communicate with their followers, and, ultimately, to plan future terror attacks. We must amend Section 230 of the CDA to establish that if social media sites assist terror groups in any way they will be held liable.

David Billet is a student at Fordham Law School, where he is an Associate Editor of the International Law Journal. In May of 2018, David graduated from Queens College, CUNY, with a B.A. in Accounting and a minor in Economics. David additionally writes articles that focus on for-

eign affairs, domestic policy, and global

anti-Semitism. To date, his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Israel Hayom, and almost twenty other media

publications.