A groundbreaking lawsuit has been filed in Israel against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, accusing the platforms of amplifying the October 7 Hamas attack by allowing brutal footage to circulate online.
The class-action suit, which seeks over $1 billion in damages, was submitted to the Tel Aviv District Court and is the first civil case of its kind in Israel, according to Ynet.
The plaintiffs include victims of the Hamas massacre, their families, and individuals who were exposed to the disturbing content shared on Meta’s platforms. One of the key plaintiffs, the Idan family from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, was directly affected when Hamas terrorists stormed their home, livestreaming the entire attack. Maayan Idan, the family’s eldest daughter, was murdered during the assault, which was broadcast to the world via Facebook. Maayan’s father, Tsachi, was kidnapped to Gaza and murdered while in captivity, his body having been returned in the most recent hostage deal.
The lawsuit claims that Meta not only failed to prevent the distribution of the gruesome footage but continues to allow it to spread. “The horrific footage distributed by Facebook and Instagram on October 7 trampled the petitioners’ rights in the most harrowing way imaginable,” the plaintiffs argue. They contend that the platforms’ failure to remove the content has caused lasting psychological harm, particularly to young users who were involuntarily exposed to the terror.
The lawsuit emphasizes that Meta’s platforms facilitated the terror attack by enabling the worldwide distribution of the distressing footage, which continues to circulate despite ongoing calls for its removal.
The case marks a significant moment in the fight for accountability, as Israel’s first civil lawsuit targeting a private company for its role in supporting terrorism. The plaintiffs demand that Meta be held responsible for the harm caused by its platforms during one of the most brutal attacks in Israeli history.