Twitter is being sued by the family of a soldier killed in an Isis shooting who claims the network hasn’t done enough about the spread of the group.
The family of Lloyd “Carl” Fields Jr, who was killed in an attack in Amman in Jordan last year, claim that the shooting might never have happened if Twitter didn’t exist. The complaint claims that Twitter is aware of Isis users on its platform and lets them continue to use it.
“Without Twitter, the explosive growth of ISIS over the last few years into the most-feared terrorist group in the world would not have been possible,” the complaint claims.
Like the rest of the large social networks, Twitter has been under scrutiny as a place that Isis is using to recruit people online. A range of accounts use the site to spread propaganda and other information.
While Twitter has been active in looking to take the accounts down, many pop back up almost instantly. The site has become a battleground between Isis supporters, those who look to oppose them and Twitter itself.
The site said that it works to kick “violent threats and the promotion of terrorism” off its network, and that it would oppose the decision.[related-posts]
“While we believe the lawsuit is without merit, we are deeply saddened to hear of this family’s terrible loss. Like people around the world, we are horrified by the atrocities perpetrated by extremist groups and their ripple effects on the Internet,” a Twitter spokesperson said.
“Violent threats and the promotion of terrorism deserve no place on Twitter and, like other social networks, our rules make that clear.
“We have teams around the world actively investigating reports of rule violations, identifying violating conduct, partnering with organisations countering extremist content online, and working with law enforcement entities when appropriate.”
The company’s transparency report says that it complied with 42 per cent of just over 1,000 content removal requests in the first half of last year.
