Cloudflare stops supporting controversial forum 8chan

Cloudflare will stop supporting the imageboard 8chan, which is widely used by the far right. The service no longer offers the site protection against DDO attacks, among other things, after several terrorists were inspired by posts on the forum.

Cloudflare made the decision following the deadly shootings in the American cities of Dayton and El Paso this weekend. Just before that latest shooting, the terrorist posted a letter on 8chan, a controversial forum where far-right ideas are often spread. Cloudflare has now notified the site that it is discontinuing its service. “The reason is simple; they have shown themselves to be lawless, and that lawlessness has resulted in multiple tragic deaths,” the company wrote in a blog post.

Cloudflare offers websites protection against DDO attacks, among other things, and makes websites faster. The service has more than 19 million customers. The agency has always been outspoken in favor of internet freedom and rarely refuses websites unless demanded by a judge. That happened only once before, when the service took the Nazi platform The Daily Stormer offline. “This is not a decision we make lightly,” the company wrote. “Cloudflare is a network provider. We reluctantly allow content we find objectionable, but we draw the line at platforms that directly inspire tragic events and are already lawless by design.”

The website 8chan itself has also been under fire for some time. Not only the shooter from El Paso, but also attackers from New Zealand and at a synagogue were inspired by posts on the forum. 8chan is an imageboard where there is virtually no moderation. In the meantime, even the founder of the site has indicated that it should be offline.