Cloudflare blocks Kiwi Farms

[Retro]

This forum is so poisonous, that XF even pulled their license. Therefore, they're effectively running a pirate copy of software that they licensed.

I remember taking a look at it a while back when I first heard about it and being really creeped out by it. Sick and twisted really applies to this. I didn't register an account.

Cloudflare's statement on their block:

https://blog.cloudflare.com/kiwifarms-blocked

News article from a respectable site:

US internet service company blocks controversial online forum citing 'imminent threats to human life'

Cloudflare, a major American internet services company, pulled its support for Kiwi Farms, a controversial online message board, Saturday evening citing "imminent threats to human life." The move temporarily forced Kiwi Farms offline.

www.cnn.com

Kiwi Farms - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

EDIT 05.09.2022

I wouldn't normally link to another forum, but this is where I first heard about this issue and the first post has a couple of useful screenshots showing the license revocation, along with the commentary to it.

XenForo revokes KiwiFarms' license

I was browsing XenForo.com today and came across this thread about KiwiFarms' XF license being revoked. For those who aren't aware, KiwiFarms is a site that documents internet drama and "lolcows" (people are so crazy or who react so over-the-top to being trolled that they can be milked for...

www.theadminzone.com

 

[Arantor]

CloudFlare is in a complicated place. On the one hand, they want to be impartial and avoid getting targeted themselves for being seen to censor/not censor content, while on the other recognising that some types of content are over the line.

I suppose this is one of those “at what point do they have responsibility for enabling groups like KiwiFarms” questions. And that even the bad guys are entitled to a lawyer style scenarios.

I’m glad they took this step, but I fear the very possible slippery slope that they themselves talk about - offensive content isn’t exactly objective, as even they point out in passing.

 

[Retro]

A rock and a hard place, yeah, quite. I guess there are limits to everything. Imagine an ISIS site showing beheadings of innocent victims and other atrocities. I don't think any organization would hesitate to ban that. Notice that I haven't linked to Kiwi Farms, even though they're currently unreachable.

Unfortunately, it's scenarios like this which forces the hand of censorship that start us on that slippery slope.

 

[Arantor]

It looks like Kiwi Farms guy is giving up.

Looks like it from this Twitter post with a statement embedded in the photo -

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1566771209928413186

Basically, plan B for DDOS protection lastly all of 24 hours before washing their hands of Kiwi Farms, he's not convinced he can find another domain registrar who will honour the domain/DNS, he's not convinced the hosts won't be forced to let it go because his country has passed strong censorship laws (though KF's material was dubious under US law too) and now he's crying foul.

Thing about 'freedom of speech' advocates is that for many of them, it's only free all the time they can say what they want, unchallenged - and that there are no consequences for being awful.

 

[Retro]

This is great news indeed.

Thing about 'freedom of speech' advocates is that for many of them, it's only free all the time they can say what they want, unchallenged - and that there are no consequences for being awful.

Yes, true. To be honest, most of us want to censor people who attack and disparage us, as well as political differences etc, but have to live within democratic rules. Yes, the troublemakers must suffer the consequences of their own actions. Free speech doesn't protect them from that, an inconvenient fact for them.

 

[Arantor]

Freedom of speech is a very complicated thing, though. Because not all attacks are unwarranted, not all disparagement is undeserved.

Consider the notion that freedom of speech must extend with few reservations to political opponents and commentators - because if you can't criticise your government for legitimate failings, you're literally in a dictatorship. Most of us believe we're not in one of those, and the only way that can be shown is for dissentors to be permitted to speak.

This is not to say that their speech is free from all constraints, but it's a very complicated, very fine line.

One man's truth is another man's lie.

 

[Retro]

Indeed, it boils down to a massive grey area, no way around it.

If you think about it, I have that same issue right here on NZ. It just so happens that I've not had anyone come on here and say things that are over the edge. I had one idiot (you know who) who thought climate change wasn't a thing because the moon's orbit is declining. I left his stupid comment there, but challenged him on it, at which point he went all quiet because he couldn't handle it. His comment is still there btw.

As the forum grows, that censorship situation might well happen and then I'll just have to make a judgement call then.