Cloudflare controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2025
Copyright liability litigation
Cloudflare faced litigation concerning alleged copyright infringement by websites using its services, including a reported loss in a case brought by Japanese publishers. The dispute challenged the limits of intermediary protection for infrastructure providers.
2022
Kiwi Farms termination
Cloudflare terminated service to Kiwi Farms following sustained allegations that the forum facilitated targeted harassment and threats. The case renewed discussion of Cloudflare’s exceptional-termination standards.
2020
Cloudflare family DNS filter blocked some LGBT and sex education sites
Issue disclosure
Cloudflare's initial adult-content filter for 1.1.1.1 for Families prevented users from visiting certain LGBT and sex education sites. CEO Matthew Prince called it a mistake and said the company was working to remedy it.
Company response
Remediation — Cloudflare
It was a horrible mistake and we are working to remedy it as quickly as possible.
Source excerpt
While 1.1.1.1 for Families was released with good intentions, Cloudflare's initial filter configuration for adult content ended up preventing users from visiting certain LGBT and sex education sites.
It was a horrible mistake and we are working to remedy it as quickly as possible.
2020
Deniece Waidhofer sues Cloudflare and other defendants over alleged piracy
Lawsuit filed
Model Deniece Waidhofer filed a lawsuit alleging that Thothub, Cloudflare, and other defendants were involved in copyright infringement and a RICO conspiracy related to the distribution of her content. The article reports allegations, not a court determination.
Stated objective. To stop Thothub and its members and co-conspirators from continuing to distribute Waidhofer's digital content and to hold them accountable, according to the complaint.
Source excerpt
The site, its members, and services it works with, including Cloudflare, are accused of copyright infringement and being part of a RICO conspiracy, the suit alleges.
In an effort to stop the leaks, she also lawyered up and sued Thothub and third-party companies it works with, including CDN provider Cloudflare and advertisers Bangbros and Multi Media.
2019
8chan termination
Cloudflare stopped providing service to 8chan after the site was linked in public debate to extremist content and mass-shooting manifestos.
2019
Takeshobo sues Cloudflare in Japan
Lawsuit filed
Takeshobo filed a civil action against Cloudflare at the Tokyo District Court, alleging copyright infringement. Takeshobo said it took legal action after requests to remove content offered by a Cloudflare customer were ignored.
Source excerpt
Takeshobo revealed that on December 20, 2019, it filed a civil action against the CDN company at the Tokyo District Court.
Major Japanese publisher Takeshobo has sued Cloudflare in a Tokyo court for alleged copyright infringement.
The publisher says it was forced into the action after requests to remove content being offered by a Cloudflare customer were ignored.
2017
The Daily Stormer termination
Cloudflare terminated service to The Daily Stormer after the white-nationalist website published material connected to violence and harassment. The decision intensified debate over whether Cloudflare should act as a content moderator.
2011
LulzSec service controversy
Cloudflare drew criticism after providing DDoS protection to LulzSec, a hacking group. The episode became an early example of the tension between Cloudflare’s infrastructure-neutrality position and demands that providers deny service to abusive customers.