Families of Oct 7 victims sue Meta over livestreams of Hamas atrocities

A petition to certify a lawsuit against Meta – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram – as a class-action suit has been filed in a Tel Aviv court on behalf of families of the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacres.

The lawsuit alleges that Meta facilitated and amplified the attacks through its services and software, and violated the privacy rights of victims and users by recommending the sensitive content, particularly on its two main social platforms – Facebook and Instagram – which were used to stream some of the horrific incidents. 

“The Respondent acted contrary to its policy, its commitments, and its obligations, allowing its social networks to serve as a weapon, as an inseparable part of the terrorist attack on the State of Israel,” the motion claimed. 

The lawsuit seeks over NIS 4 billion (approximately $1.15 billion) in damages and is the first of its kind in Israel, in which victims' families are suing a private company over alleged complicity in terror activity. It was filed by attorneys from the law firms G. Karner and Matri, Meiri, Wacht.

“The horrific images of terror and pain are forever ingrained in the minds of these families as the last moments their loved ones had on earth,” the motion reads. The motion also states that the atrocity continues as long as the footage of the attacks remains publicly available. 

"Every day that Meta continues to spread the horrors, the terrorist attack on the victims and their families continues,” the motion reads. “Facebook and Instagram served as an inseparable part of Hamas's terror infrastructure, and they serve as an infrastructure for spreading terror to this day.” 

Among the signatories of the motion are members of the Idan family from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, whose eldest daughter, Maayan, was murdered by Hamas terrorists after they broke into the family’s home and held them hostage for hours. The murder and the entire attack were broadcast live on a Facebook account of a family member by the terrorists. Some extended family members found out about the attack only after logging in to Facebook and seeing the livestream.

“Her horrific murder and the entire attack was livestreamed on Facebook for the whole world to see,” the motion states. 

Maayan’s father, Tzachi, was kidnapped into Gaza, where he was murdered. His body was returned in the last hostage-ceasefire deal. 

Gali Idan, widow of Tzachi and mother of Maayan, told Ynet News, “Facebook and Instagram enabled the livestreaming of a brutal terror attack. They allowed the world to watch hostages pleading for their lives, a teenage girl’s execution, a family’s torment – and they did not stop it. And worse, Meta still allows the footage to circulate. Our privacy and humanity were destroyed on October 7 – and Meta continues to profit from it. They are complicit in the infrastructure of terror.” 

Mor Bayder, who also signed the motion, learned about her grandmother’s death after terrorists filmed the murder on her grandmother’s phone and posted it to her Facebook page. 

Another plaintiff, Stav Arava, learned through Facebook that his family was being held captive, and that his brother Tomer Arava-Eliaz was being forced at gunpoint to go house-to-house for terrorists, trying to convince people to open their doors. Tomer was killed by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. 

The petition was also joined by a mother who discovered her daughter had been kidnapped after the incident was broadcast live on Instagram. Another mother and her 14-year-old daughter also joined the suit after logging onto Facebook and Instagram on Oct. 7, where they were exposed to graphic videos of the massacre. 

"Facebook and Instagram trampled on the privacy of the victims, and they continue to trample on it every day that they enable the distribution of the horror videos and reap profits from them,” the motion argued. “They have caused serious harm to network users, including many youth who were exposed to the atrocities that Hamas committed and sought to spread as an integral part of the terrorist attack.” 

Meta responded to the motion with a statement saying it continues to actively remove content related to the Oct. 7 massacres.

"Our hearts go out to the families affected by Hamas terrorism,” Meta said in response. “Our policy defines Hamas as a proscribed organization and we remove content that supports Hamas or glorifies Hamas and the October 7 terrorist attack. Following the attacks, we established dedicated teams that work around the clock to remove content that violates our policy – while also allowing our platforms to continue to be used to condemn Hamas and raise awareness for the victims, including the hostages held in Gaza.” 

The Tel Aviv District Court will now determine whether the motion qualifies for class-action status. Key considerations include demonstrating that a defined group was clearly affected and providing evidence of damages resulting from the actions of the defendant.