The family of a California man killed in the terror attack in Barcelona is suing Facebook, Twitter and Google for their part in ‘aiding, abetting and knowingly providing support and resources’ to ISIS, it has emerged
Jared Tucker, from Walnut Creek, was one of 13 people who died when a van mowed down pedestrians on the Spanish city’s packed La Rambla on August 17.
The three daughters of the 42-year-old, who was celebrating his one year anniversary with wife Heidi Nunes-Tucker in Barcelona when he was killed, have now filed a lawsuit against the tech giants.
Jared Tucker (right), a California resident along with his wife Heidi Nunes-Tucker (left) were ending their European vacation in Barcelona when he was killed
Mrs Nunes-Tucker said her husband would have been among those helping the wounded on Las Ramblas if he had survived
According to the New York Post, the complaint claims the firms have ‘for years knowingly and recklessly provided the terrorist group ISIS with accounts to use its social networks as a tool for spreading extremist propaganda, raising funds and attracting new recruits.’
The daughters are being represented by their mother and legal guardian, Danelle Sinclair, the newspaper reports, with the suit filed in the US District Court in Northern California.
The case may depend on the interpretation of parts of the 2016 Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.
MailOnline has reached out to Facebook, Twitter and Google for comment.
In June, in the wake of a terror attack in London, Facebook vowed to be ‘hostile’ to terrorists. Simon Milner, director of policy at the social media giant, said the company worked ‘aggressively’ to remove extremist content.
Jared Tucker, from Walnut Creek, was one of 13 people who died when a van mowed down pedestrians on the Spanish city’s packed La Rambla on August 17. The famous road is pictured in the days after the attack
The social media giant has also vowed recently that it will deploy artificial intelligence to seek out images, footage and text linked to terrorism.
Last month, new figures revealed nearly a million Twitter accounts have been suspended for promoting terrorism in less than two years.
The microblogging site cut off 935,897 accounts for violating its rules on the promotion of terrorism from the start of August 2015 to the end of June this year.
The New York Post reports that Google-owned YouTube has also pledged to act faster to remove terror-related content.