Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh

The case arose from the 2017 ISIS attack on the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, which killed Nawras Alassaf. His family sued Twitter, Facebook, and Google, claiming the platforms aided and abetted international terrorism by failing to remove ISIS content. The district court dismissed the claims, but the Ninth Circuit partially reversed. The Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Ninth Circuit, holding that the plaintiffs failed to state a claim because the platforms' general inaction did not constitute knowing and substantial assistance to the specific attack.

The Supreme Court unanimously held that the plaintiffs failed to state a claim for aiding and abetting liability, reversing the Ninth Circuit.

Whether social media platforms can be held liable for aiding and abetting ISIS under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act based solely on their failure to remove terrorist content from their platforms.

The ruling significantly limits the liability of technology companies under anti-terrorism laws, shielding internet platforms from broad claims based on general inaction and reinforcing the requirement of direct, knowing assistance for specific attacks.