Olivia Cavallaro Tech 09.05.2022 04:Sep AM EDT

Cloudflare Drops Kiwi Farms Forums Over 'Imminent Threats to Human Life'

Kiwi Farms went offline after internet services company Cloudflare withdrew its support for the controversial forum.

San Francisco, California-based internet services company Cloudlfare on Saturday has ceased supporting Kiwi Farms, a notorious messaging board dedicated to harassment and organized group trolling and stalking. Citing "imminent threats to human life," Cloudflare made the decision after transgender Twitch streamer Clara Sorrenti of Canada launched an online campaign to take down Kiwi Farms.

Describing Cloudflare's "extraordinary decision" to pull the plug on their support for Kiwi Farms, the internet services company's CEO Matthew Prince said that it would be "dangerous" to continue providing services to the controversial message board, adding that they are no longer "comfortable with" doing so, ABC News reported.

Prince described the Kiwi Farms "rhetoric" and "specific, targeted threats" to be escalating and that "unprecedented emergency and immediate threat to human life" has been observed.

How Kiwi Farms Operates as an Extremist Forum

The notorious internet forum was founded in 2013 by Joshua Moon, who is known by his handle "Null" on the website. Moon was formerly employed as an 8chan administrator. As Kiwi Farms grew in popularity, so did its toxicity. What began as a "lighthearted discussion forum" became a seedy place in which people on the internet gathered to launch harassment complaints against minorities such as women, transgender individuals, feminists, and others.

In 2019, Kiwi Farms made headlines when it hosted a video of the Christchurch mosque shootings, in which up to 51 people died. The Washington Post reported that New Zealand internet service providers also blocked the message board after Moon refused to answer to the police over posts concerning the shooting.

The Anti-Defamation League has labeled Kiwi Farms an "extremist-friendly forum that has been the breeding ground for countless harassment campaigns," just like the one launched against Sorrenti.

Canadian Twitch Streamer Harassed by Kiwi Farms Users

Sorrenti or "Keffals" on Twitch became the subject of harassment and violent threats from users of Kiwi Farms. CNN reported that the harassment had gotten out of hand and that she feared for her safety when her personal details were posted online.

The Twitch streamer fled her home in Canada and traveled to Belfast, Northern Ireland, to temporarily seek refuge with a friend. However, Kiwi Farms users still managed to track her down there. Local police in Ireland are now looking into the threats she received while in the country.

Cloudflare's decision to drop Kiwi Farms over "imminent threats to human life" comes as Big Tech companies are facing mounting pressure to be held accountable for their users' online activity and its real-life implications. This isn't the first for Cloudflare; however, as in 2019, the internet services provider also ceased supporting 8chan over its ties to a shooting in El Paso, Texas, which took the lives of 23 people.

Kiwi Farms in July had been removed from its domain registrar, DreamHost over the suicide of a software developer who was targeted by the message board's users. Trans activist Chelsea Manning has called for a "more balanced and measured long-term approach" to "dangerous speech" online and its effect on real-life individuals.