Facebook sued for $1billion over 'Intifada' page | Mail Online

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Facebook sued for $1billion over 'Intifada' page calling for violence against Jews
By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 1:07 AM on 3rd April 2011

Facebook and its co-founder Mark Zuckerberg are being sued for more than $1billion over a page that was on the social networking site that called for violence against Jews. The page, entitled Third Palestinian Intifada, had more than 340,000 'likes' for its proposed May 15 uprising when it was removed earlier in the week. The suit was filed by American attorney Larry Klayman in the D.C. Superior Court on Thursday.

Facing a lawsuit: Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg are accused of not taking down the Intifada page quick enough

He is also the founder of the conservative public interest group Judicial Watch. In the lawsuit Mr Klayman describes himself as "an American citizen of Jewish origin" who is "active in all matters concerning the security of Israel and its people." He alleges that Facebook did not take down the page that called for a intifada quick enough, keeping it up in order to 'further their revenues and the net worth of the company.' The page was removed by the company on March 29, several days after various people complained, including Israeli Public Diplomacy minister Yuli Edelstein and the Anti-Defamation League. A Facebook spokesman said that the claims were 'without merit,' adding that 'we will fight it vigorously.'

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Facebook sued for $1billion over 'Intifada' page | Mail Online

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Whipped up a storm: The Facebook page that was taken down

In his response to Mr Edelstein, Facebooks director of policy for Europe, the Middle East and Asia Richard Allen said: 'Our reviewers felt that the content of the Page began as a call for peaceful protest, even though the term Intifada has been associated with violence in the past. 'In addition, the administrators initially removed comments that promoted violence. Under these conditions a page of this nature would normally be permitted to remain on Facebook. 'However, after the publicity of the Page more comments deteriorated to direct calls for violence. Eventually, the administrators also participated in these calls .After administrators of the page received repeated warnings about posts that violated our policies, we removed the Page yesterday.' Mr Allen added that the company 'continues to believe that people on Facebook should be able to express their opinions, and we do not typically take down content that speaks out against countries, religions, political entities, or ideas.

Suing: Larry Klayman, founder of the group Judicial Watch, says he wants to hit Facebook in the purse

He said: 'However, we monitor pages that are reported to us and when they degrade to direct calls for violence or expressions of hate - as occurred in this case - we have and will continue to take them down.' Mr Klayman said: 'While Facebook has accomplished a lot of good, it can, as in this instance, be used for nefarious and evil purposes.' 'Defendants Zuckerberg's and Facebook's callous and greedy actions in not taking down the page, but wilfully allowing it to stay up for many days, has caused huge damage, for which they must be held accountable, so as to prevent this from ever happening again.

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Facebook sued for $1billion over 'Intifada' page | Mail Online

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'They must be not only enjoined but also hit in their purse, which is where they understand matters best.'

Comments (51)
Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all Im sorry but i find this some what hypocritical. The Israeli goverment contains coalition members of the ultra religious Shas party , who frequently encourage homophobia , inciting hatred and violence towards Israels gay community. Here in Israel , words can kill as was proved when two young people were gunned down in cold blood in a gay youth center in Tel aviv. Prior to this incident the Shas party incited hatred towards our community. - Simon, Tel Aviv, 04/4/2011 05:08 Click to rate Report abuse Facebook will remove any offensive pages, but monitoring them all is an endless task, that is why members are encouraged to complain about pages such as this. When complaints are received, Then Facebook can monitor them and take appropriate action. I honestly think that a lot of the media deliberately play down the fact that Facebook is an enormous site and that monitoring it is far from the easy task that these people assume. - Petra Court, Aberdar/Cymru, 04/4/2011 04:17 Click to rate Report abuse Christians havent had much freedom in Egypt since Muslims took control, despite the fact they were living there peacefully before Islam raised its head - sandy, outer space - thank God!, 3/4/2011 So have you actually taken out an ethnographic study in Egypt and declared that from research or is that taken merely from tv and the media? I have been to Egypt, people are living peacefully amongst each other, there is no difference between the people there. The bombing last year, majority of Christians and Muslims in Egypt do no believe it was even done by Egyptians. So I wonder who had the most to gain from it? - Muslima, Sydney, 04/4/2011 02:28 Click to rate Report abuse As a Jew, I am disgusted with self-publicists like Klayman and deeply ashamed of his attempts to curb free speech.There is a professional lobby of Jews which aggressively pursues this sort of censorship, but that they are not representative of Jews in general. Ironically, Klayman's claim that Facebook only understands being 'hit in the purse', merely serves to reinforce the stereotype of the money-obsessed Jew. - paulC, Budapest, Hungary, 04/4/2011 00:38 Click to rate Report abuse Rating 24 Rating 33 Rating 5 Rating 85

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Facebook sued for $1billion over 'Intifada' page | Mail Online

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- big ld, nw8, 03/4/2011 13:39.....that's exactly what came to my mind. it's only a page with whatever number of -likes--on a virtual world ,what about that US pastor who burnt the Quran 4 real???Give me a break. - Iman , Tanta ,Egypt, 03/4/2011 23:16 Click to rate Report abuse WHY IS'nt the group burning the quran taken down??? - mo, London, 03/4/2011 22:33 Click to rate Report abuse The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Today's headlines Most Read Victims of Air France flight 447 found at the bottom of the Atlantic British passenger plane en route to Egypt is escorted to Athens airport by Greek fighter jets after bomb threat Mother who fought husband for right to turn off disabled baby RB's life support machine reveals she's now had another child Why did my middle class brother turn into an Islamic extremist who won't be seen on TV with our mother if she's not wearing a veil? Carpenter John Sweeney found guilty of murdering two ex-girlfriends and dumping body parts in canal Sunshine all the way as forecasters predict 21C for Grand National weekend Father and daughter found dead in Mothers' Day house fire hours before 'handover back to mum' Hundreds of injured people rescued from Libyan violence by Turkish aid ship Overstretched RAF needs 'more investment' warns forces chief, as government announces 5bn military cuts IDS: Most of us WANT to work past 65 Borrowers pay record 7bn off their mortgages in last three months Miliband brands NHS shake-up a 'betrayal' as Coalition prepare to water down health reforms M11 closed both ways after massive smash traps bus passengers British woman kills herself at Swiss suicide clinic to avoid old age Two premiership rugby stars who fought TEN nightclub bouncers will not face charges Fasting 'could lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes' Girl, 15, who shoved seven-month-old baby into path of bus sent on anger management course 'Cyber sex pervert, 24, walks free after judge rules he was seduced by girl, 13 Sales of organic foods drop Miraculous escape for woman who drove out of FIFTH FLOOR of car park Wheelchair-bound patient who complained of being kept 'prisoner' in hospital found hitchhiking 'Murderer being free keeps me awake at night,' says Jia Ashton's husband French police warned not to arrest Muslim women covering up near mosques as country prepares for 'burka ban' 'Post-Katrina stress disorder': New Orleans residents three times as likely to have a heart attack than before hurricane Migrant crime wave revealed: Foreign arrests have double in just THREE years MORE HEADLINES Is this America's smallest apartment? Woman describes life in 90 sq ft home Fury as Wayne Rooney is set to escape punishment after foul-mouthed hat-trick celebrations on live TV How Prince William was all at sea on his surfing stag do Why did my middle class brother turn into an Islamic extremist who won't be seen on TV with our mother if she's not wearing a veil? Racist girl, 15, who shoved teenager and her baby brother into bus lane is fined just 50... and sent to anger management classes Mother who fought husband for right to turn off disabled Baby RB's life support machine reveals she's now had another child Welcome to your new home, Anne! She arrives safely at Longleat refuge 'We don't want more people from Sheffield having cheap holidays': Why top Tory policy guru is against building new airports 'Most of us WANT to work past 65': Astonishing claim by IDS as he unveils overhaul which could push retirement age beyond 70 They've lost the plot: BBC under fire after Gardeners' World site goes to seed since Monty Don replaced Toby Buckland M11 Motorway closed after massive smash traps bus passengers and leaves 10,000 cars gridlocked during rush hour Rating 45 Rating 45

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Facebook sued for $1billion over 'Intifada' page | Mail Online

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