Autistici/Inventati Closes After US Terrorist Designation

Autistici/Inventati, an Italian nonprofit that has hosted email, websites, mailing lists, and blogs for activists since 2001, is shutting down. The collective announced it will discontinue all services and assist users in retrieving their data, just eleven days after the United States designated it as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. This designation was made public by the State Department on August 26, with the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control adding the organization to its Specially Designated Nationals list on the same day. The designation cites that the collective provided digital infrastructure and services to violent groups labeled as extremist by the US, including Rose City Antifa and the Informal Anarchist Federation. Autistici/Inventati disputes this characterization, asserting that it offers digital self-defense tools for activists and that antifascism and anticapitalism do not equate to terrorism. The implications of the designation are significant, as it freezes any US-held assets and prohibits US persons from engaging with the listed entity. The secondary sanctions risk notation associated with the listing extends the impact to foreign banks and companies, which may face repercussions for continuing to work with the collective. Following the designation, Autistici/Inventati faced immediate consequences, including the suspension of its PayPal account and the disabling of its autistici.org domain by the Public Interest Registry. Additionally, Banca Etica, the collective's bank, suspended its account as a precautionary measure. The Italian interior ministry has stated it is not obligated to enforce US sanctions domestically, yet Banca Etica publicly criticized the designation while still freezing the account. The collective framed its closure as a protective measure for its users and volunteers, rather than an admission of wrongdoing. The shutdown will result in the loss of approximately 16,000 mailboxes, 1,500 websites, 5,500 mailing lists, and 10,000 blogs. Autistici/Inventati operated on donations, rejected cryptocurrency, and required users to agree to an antifascist, antiracist, and antisexist policy. The closure highlights the broader implications of US sanctions on European organizations, particularly in the context of ongoing discussions about tech sovereignty in Europe. Users have been advised to back up their data, as services may become unavailable before the official wind-down period concludes.