Families Of San Bernardino Shooting Victims Sue Google, Facebook And Twitter

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., May 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Family members of Sierra Clayborn, Tin Nguyen and Nicholas Thalasinos who were killed in the ISIS inspired San Bernardino, California shooting in December 2015, filed a lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday, May 3rd, naming Google, Facebook and Twitter as defendants for providing material support to the terrorist group ISIS.

Representing the families are Keith Altman and Ari Kresch of 1-800-LAW-FIRM of Southfield, Michigan. Co-counsel is Theida Salazar of Burbank, California. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

The lawsuit asserts that the defendants knowingly permitted ISIS to use their platforms for recruiting purposes, spreading propaganda and raising funds to carry out terror attacks. Through the use of the defendants' platforms, ISIS has acquired over 30,000 foreign recruits, countless donations, and a level of prosperity that would have been unachievable otherwise.

The San Bernardino shooters, Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, are responsible for ending the lives of 27-year-old Clayborn, 31-year-old Nguyen and 52-year-old Thalasinos along with 11 others. Malik pledged allegiance to ISIS on Facebook on behalf of herself and Farook prior to the attack.  

The complaint incorporates intelligence that the defendants are using ISIS' posts to create unique content by combining these posts with advertisements selected by them. Once these posts and advertisements are combined, this newly created content is being served to specific viewers who have a propensity towards that particular content.  

"Social media companies continue to allow terrorists to operate, despite reasonable steps that could be undertaken to stop them. The defendants not only continue to let terror groups like ISIS use their sites to tout hate and plan attacks, they also profit from it," said Altman. Each of the defendants place advertisements on ISIS content, profiting directly from their postings. In at least the case of Google's YouTube, advertising revenue is shared with ISIS.

Altman and Kresch are also representing victims and family members of the ISIS inspired shooting at a popular gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida in June 2016. Additionally, they are also representing Reynaldo Gonzalez, the father of Nohemi Gonzalez, the only American victim of the ISIS perpetrated Paris, France attacks in November 2015.  

CONTACT:  Tracy D. Bush
(248) 319-0969
[email protected]

SOURCE 1-800-LAW-FIRM