UKRAINE - 2021/06/29: In this photo illustration, Cloudflare logo of an US internet company is seen on a smartphone screen. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Citing an "immediate threat to human life," Cloudflare has dropped the notorious stalking and harassment site Kiwi Farms from its internet security services following an online campaign started by transgender Twitch streamer Clara Sorrenti to pressure it to do so."This is an extraordinary decision for us to make and given Cloudflare’s role as an Internet infrastructure provider, a dangerous one that we are not comfortable with," CEO Matthew Prince wrote in a blog post Saturday in an about-face after earlier insisting that the company would not block the site. "However, the rhetoric on the Kiwifarms site and specific, targeted threats have escalated over the last 48 hours to the point that we believe there is an unprecedented emergency and immediate threat to human life unlike what we have previously seen from Kiwifarms or any other customer before."For years, members of the site created and operated by Joshua Conner Moon, 29, have congregated on what they call a "lighthearted discussion forum" to organize vicious harassment campaigns against transgender people, feminists and others they deem mockable.
They gang up on victims and pool their personal details such as addresses and phone numbers in a practice called "doxxing," spreading vile rumors and targeting workplaces, friends, families and homes.
Another favorite tactic has been "swatting" — making false emergency calls to provoke an armed police response at a target’s home.