Autistici/Inventati (A/I) Ceases Operations After 25 Years
JoeMerchant writes:
On August 26, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the Italian technology collective Autistici/Inventati (A/I) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization. Under Executive Order 13224, Washington alleged that the volunteer-run platform provided material and technological support to violent far-left networks and international Antifa cells.
Founded in 2001 in Italy, Autistici/Inventati was an independent, volunteer-run tech collective that provided free privacy-oriented communication tools for activists and grassroots social movements. Rooted in anti-fascist principles and funded entirely by donations, the platform rejected corporate infrastructure and advertising. At its peak, A/I hosted over 16,000 secure email mailboxes, 10,000 blogs via its custom NoBlogs platform, 5,500 mailing lists, and 1,500 websites, serving as a critical hub for global digital self-defense.
A/I strongly rejected the classification, stating that "antifascism and anticapitalism are not terrorism". However, the U.S. sanctions quickly disabled the group's digital infrastructure. The U.S.-based Public Interest Registry placed autistici.org on serverHold status, revoking its domain and making its services invisible. Furthermore, the Italian lender Banca Etica suspended A/I's bank account due to secondary compliance risks, while criticizing the political use of extraterritorial U.S. sanctions.
Faced with severe legal and financial vulnerabilities for its network, A/I officially announced on September 6, 2026, that it would completely shut down. According to a report by Reuters, the closure permanently dismantles a non-commercial privacy network that has operated since 2001.
Digital rights advocates, including the European Digital Rights (EDRi), issued statements of solidarity with the collective. They warned that the case sets a dangerous counterterrorism precedent by aggressively targeting open-source, independent internet infrastructure and European digital sovereignty. A/I is currently providing a winding-down window to protect its community and allow users to back up their data.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.