Italian tech collective to shut down after U.S. terrorist designation

By Anna Uras

Sept 7 (Reuters) - Italian ‌technology collective ​Autistici/Inventati (A/I) said ​on Sunday it would shut down its services after a U.S. terrorism designation led to the suspension of its .org domain and ‌the closure of its bank account.

The closure affects about 16,000 mailboxes, ⁠1,500 websites, 5,500 mailing lists and 10,000 blogs, according to the U.S. State Department.

The volunteer-run ‌provider, founded in 2001, offers ‌privacy-focused email, websites, mailing lists and blogging services to activists, campaigners and others seeking alternatives to commercial platforms.

The United States designated the group on ​August 26, alleging it provided support to extremist activists and organisations through services including email accounts, websites and communications tools.

A/I rejected the designation, describing ⁠itself as a collective of volunteers and digital activists that provides digital self-defence tools for activists, individuals, groups ​and associations.

Two days later, autistici.org became unreachable after Public Interest Registry (PIR), the U.S.-based operator of the .org domain, placed it on ​serverHold status. PIR said it was legally ‌required to suspend the domain following the designation.

Banca Etica, an Italian lender where the collective held an account, subsequently suspended ⁠the account, citing sanctions-related risks. The bank criticised what it described as the use of U.S. sanctions for political purposes.

In a statement announcing the closure, A/I said it had ⁠hoped to continue operating but could no longer do so responsibly.

"The day we discovered we ​had been designated a global terrorist organization, we promised that we would try to resist as long as this was possible," the collective said.

However, it said it had "a responsibility ‌to protect our users" and could not ignore the risk that people associated with the organisation might face legal or ‌financial consequences.

"The possibility that our work may cause legal and financial consequences to ⁠those who are close to us, ‌or even only have ​something to do with us, leaves us no choice," it said.

(Reporting by Anna Uras; Addional reporting by Leo Marchadon; Editing by ‌Matt Scuffham)

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