A case being argued before the Supreme Court of the United States could decide the future of the internet.
Fox 4 Investigates’ series of reports on the “State of Hate” has documented the rise in antisemitism in Florida, with a special focus on the use of social media.
Now the highest court in the land will decide if social media companies are liable for what their users post.
A NIGHT OF TERROR IN THE CITY OF LIGHT
On a Friday night in Paris in 2015, 130 people were killed in a series of coordinated terrorist attacks.
One of those victims, Nohemi Gonzalez, was killed while she sat in a bistro with her friends.
Eight years later, her family is taking big tech to court.
“To see the pain that my wife is going through, hopefully, this will change the internet,” said Jose Hernandez, Gonzalez’s stepfather.
The Gonzalez family alleges Google aided and abetted the recruitment of Isis members by allowing videos on YouTube.
“I just want people to understand that we’re looking for justice,” Hernandez said.
THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides immunity to websites like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for the content that is posted to their site.
The tech companies argue they constantly screen their sites to keep terrorists off.
In a statement on its website, Google argued if they lose the case in the Supreme Court the decision “would impede access to information, limit free expression, hurt the economy, and leave consumers more vulnerable to harmful online content.”
Nitsana Darshan-Leinter from the Israel Law Center is one of the lawyers who spoke in front of the Supreme Court in this case.
“Every terror attack begins and ends on social media,” Darshan-Leitner told Fox 4 Investigates.
“The way the terrorists are using social media, it’s a tool they’ve never had before and they can’t live without. They spread the ideology on Facebook, they make it normal.”
The Google case is one of two similar, yet separate cases in front of the Supreme Court.
The other case claims Twitter allowed terrorists to spread their ideology, which the social media company denies.
