[Chapter-delegates] We should speak up about the disabling of autistici.org

[Sebastian Bellagamba]

Dear colleagues

We are aware of reports regarding the suspension of autistici.org<http://autistici.org/>, gathering information, and closely monitoring developments.

We are actively evaluating the matter and will provide further information as soon as it becomes available.


Sebastián Bellagamba, VP, External and Community Engagement
bellagamba at isoc.org
[A close up of a sign  Description automatically generated]
internetsociety.org<http://www.internetsociety.org> | @internetsociety
From: Chapter-delegates <chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org> on behalf of Thilina Pathirana via Chapter-delegates <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
Date: Monday, 31 August 2026 at 11:02
To: Chapter-delegates <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
Subject: [Chapter-delegates] We should speak up about the disabling of autistici.org

Dear All,

Following is a message from the Norwegian Chapter:

We believe the Internet Society should publicly address the removal of autistici.org<http://autistici.org> from the global DNS.

The domain’s registry record currently carries serverHold, serverUpdateProhibited, and serverTransferProhibited - registry-level EPP statuses. In particular, serverHold prevents the domain from being published in the DNS. This is therefore not merely the suspension of a customer account or the termination of a commercial hosting service: it removes the domain from normal DNS resolution globally, disrupting web, email, and other services that depend on the autistici.org<http://autistici.org> name.

Autistici/Inventati was designated by the U.S. Treasury on 26 August. At the same time, OFAC issued General License 36, authorizing transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to wind down dealings involving the organization until 25 September.

General License 36 does not require service providers to continue providing service until that date. However, its existence raises an important question: was disabling DNS resolution through serverHold legally required immediately, or could the domain have remained delegated while being locked against transfer or modification during an orderly wind-down period?

The public U.S. designation materials do not allege that Autistici/Inventati itself carried out violent attacks. Instead, the stated basis centers on its provision of technological infrastructure and services, which the U.S. government characterizes as material or technological support for terrorism. These are serious allegations, but the public materials do not provide a detailed evidentiary record that allows outsiders to independently assess the basis for such a far-reaching infrastructure-level action.

This creates a broader Internet-governance concern. If a sanctions designation by one government can result in registry-level action that makes a domain used by people around the world cease resolving globally, there should be transparency about the legal authority, necessity, proportionality, safeguards, and avenues for redress involved.

PIR operates the .ORG registry and is a nonprofit subsidiary of the Internet Society. Because these are registry-level status codes, the registrant’s registrar cannot simply remove them, restore the delegation, transfer the domain, or modify the registration independently.

This is particularly important because PIR already recognizes in its own published principles that registry-level DNS action can have extensive collateral effects, including disruption of an entire domain, email services, subdomains, and associated content. PIR also states commitments to proportionality, due process, transparency, and minimizing collateral damage.

We therefore believe ISOC and PIR should publicly clarify:

  *   Whether PIR, or its registry service provider acting on PIR’s behalf, imposed these registry statuses, and under what authority.
  *   The legal basis for applying serverHold, and whether immediate removal from DNS was legally required.
  *   Why continued DNS delegation during the OFAC-authorized wind-down period was not considered an appropriate or legally available alternative.
  *   How the use of serverHold in this case was assessed against PIR’s existing commitments to proportionality, due process, transparency, and minimizing collateral damage.
  *   Whether PIR’s existing notice, appeal, and redress mechanisms apply to registry actions taken for sanctions compliance, rather than actions taken under its Anti-Abuse Policy.
  *   What safeguards exist to ensure that future sanctions-related registry actions are necessary, proportionate, transparent, and subject to meaningful review.

This should not be dismissed as routine compliance.

The question is not simply whether a U.S. entity must comply with U.S. sanctions law. The deeper question is how that compliance is implemented when control of globally shared Internet infrastructure is involved.

A registry-level serverHold has consequences far beyond one commercial relationship or one jurisdiction. It can make a domain cease resolving for users worldwide. Actions with that degree of global impact deserve a correspondingly high level of transparency and accountability.

ISOC describes its mission in terms of an Internet that is open, globally connected, secure, and trustworthy. A case in which registry control is used to remove a domain from global DNS resolution is directly relevant to those principles.

If ISOC remains silent in cases like this, it risks creating the impression that its commitments to an open and globally connected Internet apply only until they come into tension with the exercise of centralized control over critical naming infrastructure.

At minimum, ISOC and PIR should explain what happened, what legal obligations applied, why serverHold was considered necessary, and what safeguards exist to prevent disproportionate use of registry-level disconnection in the future.


Best Regards,

Thilina.



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Thilina Pathirana
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Researcher specialised in data networking
President - LKNOG
Chapter Leader - ISOC Norway
Member Internet Society ChAC - Steering Committee
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