Saturday, June 14, 2014

Facebook Not Liable For Delay In Removing Page Containing Anti-Jewish Threats

In Klayman v. Zuckerberg, (DC Cir., June 13, 2014), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit dismissed a suit against Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg alleging assault and breach of duty of care growing out of Facebook's delay in removing a page titled "Third Palestinian Intifada."  The page proclaimed: "Judgment Day will be brought upon us only once Muslims have killed all the Jews." The suit alleged that it took Facebook "many days" after receiving complaints to remove the offending page.  Plaintiff sought an injunction and damages exceeding $1 billion.  The court held that Sec. 230(c) of the Communications Act (47 USC Sec. 230) shields Facebook from liability. That section provides:
No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.