No terrorism liability for social media companies

Retana, a Dallas police officer, sued several social-media companies after he was injured in a mass shooting. He alleged that Hamas radicalized the shooter through their platforms, and sought relief under the Anti-Terrorist Act. The Fifth Circuit affirmed dismissal, agreeing that the Dallas shooting was not “primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States” as the Act requires, and also found that the companies did not assist any terrorist group’s actions: “The shooting was committed by a self-radicalized ‘lone wolf’ … not by Hamas.” Retana v. Twitter, Inc., No. 19-11389 (June 16, 2021).