Sixteen US lawmakers have called on Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to remove "all content promoting terrorist activity" and ban "senior Hamas officials and associates from Twitter who radicalize individuals to incite violence against Israelis."
In a letter to the San Francisco-based social media giant, the members of Congress warned that if Twitter failed to comply, they will consider legislative measures to ban these accounts.
Signatories include Lee Zeldin (R-NY), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Bill Johnson (R-OH), Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Randy Weber (R-TX), Liz Cheney (R-WY), Ted Budd (R-NC), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Scott Perry (R-PA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Mark Meadows (R-NC), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Francis Rooney (R-FL), Davis Kustoff (R-TN), and John Ratcliffe (R-TX).
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The lawmakers argued that by not barring these accounts, Twitter may be providing material support to these terrorist groups by allowing them to disseminate their destructive propaganda, which is prohibited under federal law.
"Congress has already determined that providing material support, resources, and intangible assistance to an FTO [Foreign Terrorist Organization] is a federal crime," the letter reads.
"Furthermore, the Supreme Court has upheld that federal law prohibiting individuals and groups from providing material support to FTOs does not violate the First Amendment. It is imperative that Twitter, a United States Company, bans designated FTOs, removing all content promoting terrorist activity."
Over the past several years, the letter continues, "Twitter has made some progress by removing terrorist content from groups such as ISIS [Islamic State] and Hezbollah," the lawmakers write. "However, more needs to be done to eradicate the spread of all terrorist activity by designated FTOs.
"Hamas follows a comprehensive charter that calls for the murder of every Jew and the destruction of the State of Israel through the covenant of Jihad," the lawmakers wrote. "Hamas is well known for firing rockets and digging terror tunnels into Israel, murdering and kidnapping Israelis, and using women and children as human shields. Every year, Hamas uses Twitter to gather mass participation for its 'Days of Rage' against Israel.
"Hamas and other terrorist organizations use Twitter to recruit members, and praise 'martyrs' that kill innocent Americans and Israelis," the letter states. "Hamas is recognized as a designated terrorist organization by not only the United States but the European Union and Canada as well. That is why we also urge you to ban senior Hamas officials and associates from Twitter who radicalize individuals to incite violence against Israelis."
Twitter, the letter concluded, "has a responsibility to stop the spread of terrorism on its site. We hope Twitter will take action without the need for additional congressional oversight and legislative action."
