Members of the Rohingya community filed a lawsuit against Facebook for damages over 1 billion dollars. The lawsuit was filed in California in the United States on the grounds that Facebook profited from the genocidal violence perpetrated against the Rohingya in 2017 which caused nearly 1 million people, to date, to flee into Bangladesh.
On December 14, 2022 a the Judge in the case rejected the claims by the plaintiff. The media outlet Observer reported the Judge saying, “The lawsuit fails to connect Facebook’s platform to the alleged injury the plaintiff experienced due to an attack on her village by the Myanmar military.” Further the Judge stated, “Facebook is also not defined as a product in California, so the plaintiff cannot claim strict product liability.”
The Rohingya plaintiffs may have an opportunity to refile the case after another case is heard regarding technology platforms in 2023. Amnesty International and other members of the Rohingya community, however, have called for Facebook, a.ka. “Meta” to pay reparations directly to the Rohingya community. This was previously reported by Rohingya Khobor here.
