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

The Dutch industry association for the cloud and internet sector, the Dutch Cloud Community (DCC), has expressed serious concerns about a server seized this week at a data center in Amsterdam-Oost. The seizure was reportedly carried out at the request of the U.S. authorities.

The server belonged to the Italian anti-capitalist and anti-fascist internet service provider Autistici/Inventati (A/I), which was located at Amsterdam’s Science Park. According to the DCC, the way the matter was handled appears to create a free pass for the U.S. to request data without it being clear whether an independent Dutch legal review took place.

The industry group added that it has sent an urgent letter to the police seeking clarification on the legal basis for the seizure and the manner in which it was carried out. “Without a clear Dutch review, the Netherlands loses the trust of the organizations and companies that store their data here,” the organization said.

In a written response to the ANP news agency, Amsterdam’s Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that the seizure was carried out under the mutual legal assistance treaty between the Netherlands and the U.S. In this case, the prosecutor’s office said there was no ground for refusal. It also noted that the seized data have not yet been shared with the U.S.

A/I was a left-wing Italian internet service provider. Until recently, it had offered free email and web-hosting services for roughly 25 years on activist grounds to about 20,000 organizations and activists from all over the world. After the U.S. imposed sanctions at the end of August, A/I decided to dissolve itself a little more than a week later as a precaution. The sanctions then caused A/I to lose access to its domain name, have its PayPal account terminated, and have its regular bank account blocked.

The Italian bank Banca Etica, where A/I held an account, decided to block it after the measures out of concern that possible secondary sanctions could also endanger services to its 130,000 customers. The bank also condemned the actions of the U.S. government.