The often-inflammatory internet message board 8chan, accused by many of promoting hate and violence, went offline Monday after internet infrastructure vendor Cloudflare said it would no longer serve the message board after it was used by the accused killer in the El Paso mass shooting.
Cloudflare’s technology speeds up web content delivery and allows websites to stay online by protecting them from outside attackers and hacks.
CEO Matthew Prince said the company would no longer provide that support to 8chan with an announcement on the company's blog.
“We just sent notice that we are terminating 8chan as a customer,” Prince wrote.
“The rationale is simple: they have proven themselves to be lawless, and that lawlessness has caused multiple tragic deaths. Even if 8chan may not have violated the letter of the law in refusing to moderate their hate-filled community, they have created an environment that revels in violating its spirit.”
IPO Plans
Cloudflare has come under scrutiny over its clients before, but may be even more sensitive now because of a possible IPO.
The company is privately held, but reportedly planning to go public later this year.
Business Insider reported last week that the company, valued at around $3.2 billion, filed confidential intent documents with regulators recently and plans a September public offering.
Terminating Service for 8Chan - https://t.co/q1Oa9mdySY
— Cloudflare (@Cloudflare) August 5, 2019
Prince acknowledged 8chan will likely quickly find another provider, noting Cloudflare kicked another site, The Daily Storm, off Cloudflare’s network two years ago, but it quickly signed on with a competitor.
“That competitor at the time promoted as a feature the fact that they didn't respond to legal process,” Cloudflare said.
“Today, the Daily Stormer is still available and still disgusting … they are no longer Cloudflare's problem, but they remain the internet's problem.”
The suspect in the mass shooting Saturday at an El Paso, Texas Walmart, which has left 21 dead, allegedly posted a hate-filled screed on 8chan before the shooting.
The message board was also used by the suspect in a mass shooting in a New Zealand mosque.
Prince noted the other incidents in which killers prefaced their attacks with manifestos on 8chan.
“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident,” he wrote on the Cloudflare blog.
“Nearly the same thing happened on 8chan before the terror attack in Christchurch, New Zealand. The El Paso shooter specifically referenced the Christchurch incident and appears to have been inspired by the largely unmoderated discussions on 8chan which glorified the previous massacre. In a separate tragedy, the suspected killer in the Poway, California synagogue shooting also posted a hate-filled 'open letter' on 8chan. 8chan has repeatedly proven itself to be a cesspool of hate.”
Related Links:
'A Vicious Act Of Hate': 49 Dead In New Zealand Mosque Shootings
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