Fields v. Twitter, Inc., No. 16-17165 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of an action against Twitter, seeking civil remedies under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Plaintiffs filed suit against Twitter under 18 U.S.C. 2333(a), the civil remedies provision of the ATA, alleging that they were injured "by reason of" Twitter's knowing provision of material support to ISIS. The panel held that plaintiffs have not pleaded that Twitter's provision of accounts and messaging services to ISIS had any direct relation to the injuries plaintiffs suffered. The panel declined to reach the second question presented: whether Section 230 of Communications Decency Act of 1996 protects Twitter from liability.
Court Description: Anti-Terrorism Act. The panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal of an action seeking civil remedies under the Anti-Terrorism Act against Twitter, Inc. Plaintiffs, whose family members were killed while working as government contractors in Jordan in an attack for which ISIS claimed credit, alleged injury “by reason of” Twitter’s knowing provision of material support to ISIS. The panel affirmed the district court’s holding that plaintiffs failed to adequately plead proximate causation because, to satisfy the ATA’s “by reason of” requirement, a plaintiff must show at least some direct relationship between the injuries that he or she suffered and the defendant’s acts.
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