Public Statement Regarding Recent Media Publications

Introduction

First and foremost, we understand why many people reacted emotionally to the allegations and reporting surrounding this matter.

The subject matter discussed is deeply disturbing and affects real victims. Public concern regarding online exploitation and illegal material is entirely legitimate, and no responsible infrastructure provider should dismiss those concerns.

At the same time, public discussion around these issues should remain grounded in facts, legal realities, and the operational responsibilities of the different parties involved in the internet ecosystem.

The Role of an Infrastructure Provider

NFOrce is an infrastructure and network provider.

We provide colocation, hardware, IP transit, and related infrastructure services to customers operating within a legal framework. We are not a publisher, website operator, content moderator, or platform owner. We do not operate customer websites, manage user accounts, upload content, or control what individual users submit to online platforms.

It is important to distinguish between illegal content and lawful but controversial content on user-generated content platforms.

Not all material that may be considered offensive, disturbing, immoral, or socially unacceptable is necessarily illegal under applicable law.

Infrastructure providers must operate within legal frameworks and cannot arbitrarily terminate lawful services solely because a platform or its content becomes controversial or subject to public pressure. The principle that infrastructure providers operate neutrally within legal frameworks is an important part of maintaining an open and lawful internet.

Illegal content, however, is treated entirely differently.

NFOrce Abuse Handling Procedures

NFOrce maintains strict abuse handling procedures and expects all customers to comply with applicable laws, regulatory obligations, and our abuse policies.

When illegal material is reported through the proper channels, immediate action is expected from the customer. Where necessary, enforcement measures are taken, including suspension of services.

Under Dutch regulatory expectations and enforcement frameworks, certain categories of illegal content, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM), are expected to be removed within strict timeframes.

NFOrce internally operates under significantly stricter escalation standards and reviews these matters continuously, including outside regular business hours, weekends, holidays, and emergency situations.

At the same time, infrastructure providers operate within strict legal and technical limitations. We are not permitted to arbitrarily monitor customer content, nor can we simply intervene in customer systems without proper legal or operational basis.

If infrastructure providers were to actively monitor and control all customer content directly, this would fundamentally alter both their legal position and liability framework under Dutch and European law.

Our responsibility is therefore to act when abuse is reported, assess the situation, communicate with the customer, demand corrective action where necessary, and escalate when compliance is not achieved.

The Reality of User-Generated Content Platforms

The reality of the modern internet is that platforms allowing user-generated content face continuous moderation challenges.

This is true not only for smaller websites, but also for some of the largest technology companies in the world despite enormous moderation departments, automated systems, and extensive resources.

Publicly available 2024 NCMEC reporting statistics demonstrate the scale of moderation challenges across the broader internet ecosystem.

Reports Submitted to NCMEC in 2024

These figures do not excuse illegal material, nor do they reduce the seriousness of abuse-related concerns. They do, however, demonstrate that online moderation remains a large-scale and ongoing challenge affecting virtually every platform allowing user participation at scale.

Infrastructure providers alone cannot solve online abuse. Effective enforcement and prevention require cooperation between platform operators, users, authorities, abuse organizations, infrastructure providers, and where appropriate, responsible reporting by media organizations.

Media Reporting and Responsible Disclosure

One aspect of the recent media coverage has raised serious operational and ethical questions for us.

Several publications stated that journalists identified allegedly illegal or highly disturbing material during their investigations. However, prior to publication, NFOrce did not receive the relevant URLs, evidence, or reporting information required to immediately investigate and escalate those findings through established abuse procedures.

From our perspective, if potentially illegal material is identified online, the priority should always be to report it through the appropriate operational or legal channels as quickly as possible so that review, escalation, and potential removal can take place without unnecessary delay.

This is not about limiting scrutiny, criticism, or investigative journalism. Public accountability is important. However, where harmful material is discovered, timely reporting and responsible disclosure are equally important to help prevent continued availability of such content while investigations or publications are ongoing.

Following publication, NFOrce formally requested the relevant information from the involved media organizations in order to review the findings, investigate the reported material, and take appropriate action where required. At the time of this statement, we are still awaiting additional transparency and cooperation regarding those requests.

Ongoing Review and Customer Cooperation

Recent public discussion has also created the false narrative that NFOrce knowingly supports or facilitates illegal activity. This is categorically untrue.

NFOrce does not support illegal content, exploitation, or criminal activity of any kind. Customers who fail to comply with abuse procedures, legal obligations, or enforcement requests are subject to escalation measures, suspension, and where necessary termination of services.

At the same time, the recent discussions did raise broader moral and operational concerns regarding moderation practices and historical content management on the platform involved.

Following direct discussions with the customer, additional review measures and moderation improvements are being implemented. We understand that historical user-generated content moderation on large-scale platforms is a difficult and ongoing process, and it is clear that further improvements are necessary.

As with any large-scale historical content review process, assessments and remediation efforts remain ongoing and subject to continued review.

Recent public commentary has also created the impression that the customer intends to evade responsibility, move operations elsewhere, or avoid addressing the concerns that have been raised.

At this time, that narrative does not reflect the reality of the situation.

The customer has remained in active communication with NFOrce throughout this process and is currently engaged in additional review, moderation, and remediation efforts relating to historical content on the platform.

NFOrce has made clear that continued service depends on compliance with applicable laws, abuse handling expectations, and the implementation of meaningful corrective measures.

Any future restoration of services will depend on the outcome of these ongoing efforts and our continued assessment of the situation.

Our objective is not to avoid responsibility or shift the issue elsewhere, but rather to ensure that concerns are addressed responsibly, legally, and with appropriate operational oversight.

Reporting Channels

We encourage anyone who identifies potentially illegal material online to report it immediately through the appropriate reporting channels, both to the website operator and through established abuse reporting mechanisms.

Threats and Harassment

Unfortunately, the public discussion surrounding this matter has also resulted in personal attacks, harassment, and multiple threats directed toward NFOrce staff and management across social media and other platforms, including threats suggesting that NFOrce should no longer be allowed to operate in the Netherlands.

Several of these threats have been formally reported to law enforcement.

While strong public debate and criticism are part of an open society, threats, intimidation, and harassment are not acceptable and contribute nothing to constructive discussion around complex online safety issues.

NFOrce has been a Dutch company for more than 20 years and has always been proud to operate from the Netherlands under Dutch law and European regulatory frameworks.

Throughout its history, NFOrce has worked with customers, authorities, abuse organizations, and industry partners to ensure that abuse reports and legal obligations are handled responsibly and professionally.

Commitment Going Forward

No abuse handling system is perfect, and recent events have shown that improvements can always be made throughout the industry.

NFOrce is reviewing its internal procedures, escalation processes, and customer compliance expectations to determine where additional safeguards and operational improvements may be appropriate.

The internet ecosystem is complex, and the responsibilities of infrastructure providers, platform operators, regulators, media organizations, and users are not always simple or black and white.

What remains unchanged is NFOrce’s commitment to:

• complying with Dutch and European law,
• responding to abuse reports responsibly and quickly,
• enforcing customer compliance where required,
• cooperating with authorities where legally appropriate,
• and continuously improving operational procedures where necessary.

We ask that public discussion surrounding these issues remains grounded in facts, legality, operational reality, and shared responsibility rather than assumptions, personal attacks, or simplified narratives.