Dutch cloud services concerned after U.S. request leads to Amsterdam server seiz

Dutch cloud and internet firms raised alarm after a server at an Amsterdam-Oost data center was seized at the request of U.S. authorities. The server belonged to Autistici/Inventati (A/I), an Italian anti-capitalist and anti-fascist internet service provider. The Dutch Cloud Community says the handling of the case allows U.S. requests to proceed without a clear, independent Dutch legal review and has sent an urgent letter to police demanding clarification of the legal basis and the conduct of the seizure. Amsterdam’s Public Prosecutor’s Office responded that the action was executed under the mutual legal assistance treaty between the Netherlands and the United States, that there was no legal ground for refusal, and that the seized data have not yet been transferred to U.S. authorities.

A/I had provided free email and web hosting for about 25 years to roughly 20,000 organizations and activists worldwide. After U.S. sanctions were imposed at the end of August, A/I chose to dissolve itself a little more than a week later as a precaution. The sanctions cut off its domain name, terminated its PayPal account, and led to a blocked bank account. Banca Etica, which held A/I’s account, froze the funds citing fear of secondary sanctions that could affect its 130,000 customers and publicly condemned the U.S. measures.