Cloudflare removes 8chan after El Paso shooting: ‘cesspool of hate’

The American cybersecurity company Cloudflare is no longer willing to host internet forum 8chan. That decision comes after shooter Patrick Crusius used the forum to post his racist manifesto, just before he set up a massacre Saturday at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas.

In the four-page manifesto that was posted on Saturday at 8chan, Crusius wrote that his attack was “a reaction to the Latin American invasion of Texas.” In his report, the 21-year-old young man also expressed support for the shooter who committed an attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in March. That attack was also announced in advance at 8chan.

“We just sent a message that we are putting an end to 8chan as a customer,” said Cloudflare boss Matthew Prince in a blog post. “Based on the evidence we’ve seen, the shooter probably posted a long letter on the website just before he started his terrible attack on Walmart in El Paso killing 20 people.”

‘Lawless’

By taking action we have solved our own problem, but not that of the internet

Matthew Prince, Boss of Cloudflare

Prince continues: “The reasoning is simple: they have proven that they are lawless and that lawlessness has led to many unfortunate deaths.” ‘an environment has been created in which the violation of the law is enjoyed’. He calls 8chan a “cesspool of hate.”

At Cloudflare they have no illusions, says Prince: 8chan will probably be accommodated by another host. Although his company is no longer under pressure because it hosted 8chan, it is not a solution for the mass shootings. “It does not address the problem of parts of the population who are so disappointed that they surrender to hatred,” he writes. “By taking action we have solved our own problem, but not that of the internet.”

Prince insists on clear legislation that determines what can and cannot be done online.