Cloudflare too late the hero
Boots out 8chan after its closure
Linked to mass killings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, the anonymous message board 8chan was booted out by network and web security giant Cloudflare for allegedly being a threat to its business, especially its upcoming initial public offering (IPO).
Based in San Francisco, Cloudflare said it pulled the plug on 8chan which was created by a foreigner living in the Philippines, Christian Brennan. The neo-Nazi site The Daily Stormer was the first website to be loped off by Cloudflare from its network. However, Cloudflare’s action came after Brennan himself closed the website following its being linked to the US mass shootings. In response, Philippine National Police chief General Oscar Albayalde has said that the PNP anti-cybercrime group has already stopped its investigation of Brennan. Cloudflare had just submitted its papers with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for its IPO.
A total of 31 people were killed on the El Paso and Ohio attacks. Fifty people were also massacred in New Zealand in another attack linked to 8chan, where the El Paso gunman posted racial slur before committing the shooting.
Cloudflare provides online security and denial-of-service coverage or protection for websites. It said that websites like 8chan may scare off buyers of its stocks to be made available to the public.
“Activities of our paying and free customers or the content of their websites and other Internet properties could cause us to experience significant adverse political, business, and reputational consequences with customers, employees, suppliers, government entities, and other third parties,” said Cloudflare in its US SEC filing.
“Even if we comply with legal obligations to remove or disable customer content, we may maintain relationships with customers that others find hostile, offensive, or inappropriate,” it added, backing its position not to police its customers on account of freedom of speech.
Four years before the 8chan fiasco, Cloudflare chief executive officer Matthew Prince said they were not out to pass moral judgment on the websites, something which he stressed should be left to the courts.
“If a final court order comes down and says we can’t do something… governments have tanks and guns,” he said at the time, in a position diametrically opposed to their actions against The Daily Stormer and 8chan.
Site linked to US, Netherland mass shootings.
“We are aware of some potential customers that have indicated their decision to not subscribe to our products was impacted, at least in part, by the actions of certain of our paying and free customers,” said Cloudflare’s filing.
“We may also experience other adverse political, business and reputational consequences with prospective and current customers, employees, suppliers, and others related to the activities of our paying and free customers, especially if such hostile, offensive, or inappropriate use is high profile.”