Rob Monster statement on 8chan — Epik CEO
8ch.net moves to Epik. Here’s Rob Monster’s response.
8Chan, a website again in the spotlight following the shooting in El Paso this weekend, has switched registrars. It by now got booted off of its DDoS provider CloudFlare. Now, perhaps to avoid any pressure from its domain registrar, it moved to Epik for registration services. Epik also offers DDoS.
Epik has accepted domains that other registrars have kicked out, counting Gab.com.
The registrar’s CEO Rob Monster stated that it did not solicit 8chan’s business and is evaluating whether to offer it DDoS mitigation. Here’s Monster’s full statement regarding 8ch.net moving to the registrar.
Freedom of speech and expression are fundamental rights in a free society. We enter into a slippery slope when we start to limit speech that makes us uncomfortable. The censorship we’ve seen across major social media platforms as of late has created a vacuum. Our services fill the ever growing need for a neutral service provider that will not terminate accounts based on arbitrary reasoning or political pressure. Our philosophy is, if the client is not breaking the law, they are protected under our umbrella of services.
Specific to any of the “Chan” sites, Epik did not solicit this business. We have not made a definitive decision regarding whether to provide DDoS mitigation or Content Delivery services for them. We will evaluate this in the coming days. From what little we know so far, the Chans are not lawless and do have moderation, especially in regards to DMCA and content which is illegal in the United States. Ultimately, we believe that the best disinfectant for darkness still this must absolutely occur within the bounds of the law.
