Internet Backbone Provider Hurricane Electric Censoring Kiwi Farms Sets a Dangerous Precedent

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. While the “visible” part of the internet dominated by Big Tech is what most people think of when the topic of censorship is brought up, the problem reaches much deeper – all the way to internet backbone providers. One of these, Hurricane Electric, has reportedly decided to participate in a somewhat roundabout way: in order to get to Kiwi Farms, this Tier 1 ISP is partially denying service to Crunchbits, a server provider. The case is a good example of the power that such ISPs, despite their “detached” from internet users mode of operation, have in deciding what those users can and cannot do online. This is because a great number of services – that are closer to the user, depend on them. Related: Cloudflare dropping Kiwi Farms reflects the growing erosion of neutral internet infrastructure Infrastructure providers who take it upon themselves to police online speech are additionally dangerous as purveyors of censorship because of their essential importance for the very functioning of the internet, and the fact that there is little alternative to speak of, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) noted, while reporting about the Kiwi Farms case. The digital rights group’s verdict on this controversial activity of ISPs is clear: regardless of what kind of speech it is, they should not be the ones to suppress it. However, it seems that Hurricane Electric has decided to do just that, even if…Internet Backbone Provider Hurricane Electric Censoring Kiwi Farms Sets a Dangerous Precedent