Infrastructure as a weapon: Why the US action against Italy’s Autistici/Inventati puts global digital rights on notice

Twelve days — that’s how long it took a designation, signed in the US, to bring an end to the 25-year-long work of Autistici/Inventati, an Italian technology collective which supplied a non-commercial, privacy-first communications infrastructure alternative to Big Tech.

On August 26, the US Departments of State and the Treasury denounced Autistici/Inventati (A/I) as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, in a statement by the Office of the Spokesperson (OFAC), for operating infrastructure for "far-left militants across the world".

A/I was hit with sanctions and an announcement that anyone engaging with them "may risk exposure to sanctions".

A wind-down deadline was set for September 25.

The US terrorism accusations were made under Executive Order 13224, with A/I allegedly "having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods and services to or in support of, an act of terrorism".

It’s an accusation that the collective strongly rejects, arguing that it "merely provides digital self-defence tools for activists, individuals, groups and associations", i.e. that it’s not a terrorist.

It’s a software supplier.

If you’ve not heard of Autistici/Inventati (A/I) before, you are not alone.

In some ways, it’s a wonder that this tiny Italian collective came under the radar of the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at all.

Since its beginnings in 2001, A/I has been volunteer-run.

It has provided email, mailing lists, messaging apps, web hosting, and blogging platforms, all designed to be resilient to censorship and surveillance, to thousands of users worldwide.

Within days of the announcement, though, one of A/I's domains became unreachable, its donation gateways were closed, and its bank accounts were frozen.

On Sunday (September 6), A/I announced it would shut down for good to protect users from potential repercussions.

There’s no hiding that Autistici/Inventati has been a political project.