SoylentNews

aristarchus [soylentnews.org] writes:

So here it is, at Observer [observer.com]:

Let’s face it: the internet is a horrible, horrible place. For every cute cat photo on Pinterest, there’re dozens and dozens of sites, message boards and chat rooms that cater to white supremacist, pedophiles, hate groups—basically the scum of the earth.

Great start!

Back in August, website infrastructure and security service provider, Cloudflare, announced it was cutting service to 8chan.

To backtrack: Cloudflare operates a content delivery network and keeps sites up and running—and protects domains—no questions asked. 8chan, that nefarious go-to message board site for hate groups (which has “cleverly” rebranded as 8kun), was one of those protected domains. In a blog post announcing the company would be terminating service for 8chan, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince called it a “cesspool of hate” and stated that “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.”

This ethical tech decision came after the man responsible for the mass shooting in El Paso posted a lengthy racist and anti-immigration manifesto. Guess where he posted it? 8chan—right before the attack that killed 20 people.

A great story of the triumph of morals and ethics—if it ends there. But there’s more…

Original Submission