Lemmy world:

• Runs the largest Lemmy instance, for free, for your enjoyment.
• Accepts all liability for content, local and federated (there’s little/no legal distinction when you’re essentially running a copy of a remote community)
• Posts a transparent TOS
• Lists which countries’ governing laws apply to it
• Gave a valid reason for the removal of those communities in the modlog

Users, not even on Lemmy World or directly affected by this:

I’m not in the loop or even involved with LW’s admin affairs, but I would imagine there was a letter or email to them or their service provider that prompted that and likely named those communities specifically. Going out on a limb, I would guess the community removal was a timely response to something like that, and based on LW’s history, an announcement will probably be coming soon-ish.

Before you grab your torches and pitchforks, remember: Pretty much every Lemmy instance is run by volunteers that don’t have legal departments.