Dutch Authorities Hand U.S. Data From Seized Anti-Fascist Server

Dutch authorities are handing the United States data from a seized server belonging to Italian internet service provider Autistici/Inventati (A/I). NL Times reported Saturday that police in Amsterdam seized the server last week following a request from U.S. authorities. The seizure followed the Trump administration's designation of the group as a "global terrorist" organization. Police seized the server from a data center in Amsterdam's eastern district. Autistici/Inventati is an anti-capitalist and anti-fascist group that offered free email and web-hosting services for organizations and activists.

The United States designated Autistici/Inventati as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" in August. U.S. authorities claimed that Autistici/Inventati operates the "digital infrastructure for violent Antifa cells and other far-left militants." The designation prevents U.S.-based people and organizations from doing business with Autistici/Inventati. Autistici/Inventati subsequently disbanded as the group's users and donors faced potential repercussions.

Privacy advocate Harry Halpin, CEO of privacy infrastructure firm Nym, called politically motivated server seizures a "terrifying precedent." Halpin argued that the Trump administration targeted Autistici/Inventati's servers because of the group's political beliefs. Halpin said Dutch cooperation in shutting down the server meant that the Netherlands was "nothing more than a colony of the United States."

Yuriy Brisov, a lawyer and partner at Digital & Analogue Partners, said the U.S. designation has no standing in the Netherlands. Brisov said an FBI agent in Amsterdam has roughly the powers of a tourist, so states must ask each other for permission. Brisov identified a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, signed in The Hague in 1981, as the framework for requests between the United States and EU states. Brisov explained that Dutch officers act under Dutch law and with Dutch powers, but entirely at the request of the United States. Brisov said that arrangement explains why Dutch authorities, rather than U.S. authorities, seized the server. Brisov said prosecutors operate on a "trust principle" and do not assess proportionality or whether the U.S. investigation actually needs the material.

However, Brisov said Dutch authorities could refuse a request that harms the Netherlands' essential interests, concerns a political offence or amounts to double jeopardy. Seizure is also allowed only if the alleged conduct is a crime in both countries carrying more than a year in prison. Brisov said a Specially Designated Global Terrorist designation requires neither a conviction nor a court hearing. Brisov added that neither the Dutch government nor the European Union followed the U.S. designation. Brisov said Washington's designation underpins the request even though the Netherlands does not share that designation. Brisov questioned whether anyone in The Hague considered the political-offence issue, which Dutch law reserves for Minister of Justice and Security David van Weel personally. Brisov noted that internet hosts are not normally liable for users' conduct. Brisov said that rule appears in U.S. law and EU law through the Digital Services Act.

Halpin said the request should have been scrutinized because of the request's political nature. Halpin argued that any country that believes in sovereignty should resist politically motivated server seizures. Halpin argued that only a genuinely decentralized setup spanning multiple jurisdictions, as attempted by many blockchain projects, can resist nation-state attacks on digital infrastructure.