Father of Paris Terror Attack Victim Sues Facebook, Twitter, Google for Allowing Terror Messages

LOS ANGELES, CA - The father of a Cal State Long Beach student who was gunned down during the November terrorist attacks in Paris filed a lawsuit against Twitter, Facebook and Google, alleging the social media sites have allowed terror groups to use their technology to spread propaganda and recruit members.

Nohemi Gonzalez, 23, of El Monte, was the only American killed in the November shootings that left 130 people dead. Gonzalez, a CSULB senior majoring in industrial design, was one of 17 students attending Strate College of Design in Paris as part of a semester-abroad program.

She was killed while eating with friends at a popular bistro in Paris called La Belle Equipe.

There was no immediate response to requests for comment from Twitter, Facebook and Google.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Northern California, alleges the social media sites have allowed the terrorist group ISIS to use their networks to spread extremist propaganda, raise money and attract recruits.

"This material support has been instrumental to the rise of ISIS and has enabled it to carry out numerous terrorist attacks, including the Nov. 13, 2015, attacks in Paris where more than 125 were killed, including Nohemi Gonzalez," according to the lawsuit.

"Without defendants Twitter, Facebook and Google (YouTube), 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 lawsuit states.

The suit notes that as of December 2014, ISIS had about 70,000 Twitter accounts, at least 79 of which were "official," and it posted "at least 90 tweets every minute."

"As with Twitter, ISIS has used Google (YouTube) and Facebook in a similar manner," according to the court document.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

--City News Service, photo courtesy of CSU Long Beach