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A/I shuts down – Stay human

2026-09-06 | original
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Why This Matters

Autistici/Inventati, a 25-year-old collective providing free, privacy-focused, non-commercial email and hosting to activists, says it is shutting down after being designated a global terrorist organization. The group says it cannot risk legal and physical consequences for its users and communities, so it is discontinuing all services. It's a stark example of how state designations, rather than technical attacks, can dismantle independent privacy infrastructure.

Key Takeaways
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A/I shuts down - Stay human

Sep 6, 2026

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, that we would not back down as long as we could see options to stand our ground. For years, we have proudly maintained and defended a free, privacy-friendly, autonomous and politically committed infrastructure.

“Stay human” is not an empty phrase to us.

It means, above all, that we have a responsibility to protect our users, those who build the human networks we rely, and for the communities who flooded us with messages of support and solidarity.

We cannot engage in a fight or expose ourselves to manipulations that threaten the lives of these people and their loved ones, leaving them at the mercy of autocrats, fascists and agencies that take extra-legal courses of action. 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.

A/I is shutting down. The Autistici/Inventati collective is shutting down and will soon discontinue all of the services we provide.

There is no easy way to announce or explain this

Every day we stayed online after August 26, 2026, has been a victory, but now we are forced to stop.

None of us holds eroic gestures and martyrs in high esteem, therefore we will demand no sacrifices. Not from us, not from anyone else. In this political climate, continuing to offer our services endangers our users and anyone who is part of our communities. In a world where allegations are disconnected from reality, we can only expect repression to be increasingly disproportionate. Under these circumstances, we are no longer able to maintain our original mission - offering secure and non-commercial digital tools.

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Explore topics: autistici/inventati a/i stay human privacy-friendly infrastructure global terrorist designation
Related:
Autistici/Inventati's main .org domain goes dark after US terrorism designation
Autistici/Inventati case sets a new counterterrorism precedent, Irdi says
U.S. sanctions against the A/I Collective
U.S. Sanctions Against the a/I Collective
US Government Designates Host of Noblogs.org a "Global Terrorist"

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