Prosecutors in Zeeland-West-Brabant opened a preliminary investigation after the Netherlands-hosted site, served by NFOrce in Steenbergen, went down on Thursday evening.
The move followed scrutiny of videos linked to non-consensual image sharing and drug-facilitated sexual assault; CNN had found more than 20,000 so-called sleep videos on the platform.
Motherless drew nearly 82 million March visitors, but campaigners warn abusive material can reappear across jurisdictions, making survivor-led removal efforts and enforcement difficult.
Motherless is down, but can new 'Safety by Design' laws prevent the next platform from rising?
As AI-powered abuse surges, are regulators and tech giants prepared for the fight against organized online crime?