Urgent need to investigate role of technology, social media companies in killing Gazan civilians ( euromedmonitor.org )

The role of major technology companies and international social media platforms in the killing of Palestinian civilians during Israel’s genocidal war against the Gaza Strip, ongoing since 7 October 2023, must be investigated. These companies need to be held accountable if found to be complicit or not to have taken adequate precautions to prevent access to, and exploitation of, users’ information. They must ensure that their services are not used in conflict zones and that their users’ privacy is respected.

With concerns being voiced regarding the Lavender system’s possible reliance on tracking social media accounts, Israeli military and intelligence sources have acknowledged attacking potential targets without considering the principle of proportionality or collateral damage.

A young Palestinian man who requested to be identified only as “A.F.” due to safety concerns, for instance, was seriously injured in an Israeli bombing that targeted a residential house in Gaza City’s Al-Sabra neighborhood.

His relative told Euro-Med Monitor that A.F. had merely been attempting to mimic press reporters when he posted the brief video clip on his personal Instagram account. Suddenly, however, A.F. was targeted by an Israeli reconnaissance plane while on the roof of the house.

The house was targeted shortly after A.F. posted a video clip on Instagram, which is owned by Meta, in which he joked that he was in a “field reconnaissance mission”.

A separate Israeli bombing on 16 April claimed the lives of six young Palestinians who had gathered to access Internet services. One of the victims was using a group chat on WhatsApp—a Meta subsidiary—to report news about the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City.