Amsterdam police seize server for US investigation
Police copy data from Italian service Autistici/Inventati and make it available to the United States.
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Amsterdam police seized a server at a data centre in Amsterdam-Oost on Tuesday. The action was taken at the request of the US authorities; it is not yet known which data will be handed over.
Police confirmed the seizure to news agency ANP. The server belongs to Autistici/Inventati, an Italian internet service that provided free hosting and email to thousands of organisations and projects for many years.
Police will first make a digital copy of the data. According to ANP, that copy will be made available to the United States as part of the US request for mutual legal assistance. Once the work has been completed, the physical server is expected to be returned to the data centre.
Little is known about the precise reason for the action or the contents of the request. Police say they cannot indicate which data will be handed over. As a result, it is unclear whether the US investigation concerns specific users, the service itself or a combination of the two.
On 26 August, Autistici/Inventati was placed on the US sanctions authority OFAC's list of specially designated global terrorists. The official US decision states that, according to Washington, the organisation provided material, financial or technological support for terrorism. In its confirmation, the Dutch police do not independently adopt that characterisation.
The US measure had already affected the digital service. According to reports, Autistici/Inventati lost access to financial services and the volunteers behind the service decided to wind down their activities. The server action in Amsterdam may therefore also affect data belonging to organisations and users who are not themselves the subject of an investigation.
The case exposes a tension between international law-enforcement cooperation and digital sovereignty. Requests for mutual legal assistance can be carried out under treaties, but shared servers raise the question of how third-party data is protected. It also matters which Dutch court or authority reviewed the transfer; no separate decision on this can be found in the information currently in the public domain.
The case is relevant to Dutch hosting companies because infrastructure in the Netherlands may contain data sought by foreign authorities. Police stress that the investigation is still ongoing. Until there is more clarity, it cannot be established which user data was copied or how long the US authorities may retain it.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- A server belonging to Autistici/Inventati was seized in Amsterdam.
- The action was taken at the request of the US authorities.
- Police are making a digital copy and say they do not know which data will be handed over.
- The United States placed Autistici/Inventati on a terrorism sanctions list.
Left
Arguments International mutual legal assistance must not lead to the criminalisation of hosting services and anti-fascist or political infrastructure. The Netherlands must protect users and freedom of expression against foreign sanctions that are applied too broadly.
Values Privacy, freedom of expression and protection against abuse of power.
Consequences Without transparent review, trust in Dutch data centres and public institutions may decline.
Centre
Arguments Law-enforcement agencies must be able to cooperate on serious cross-border crimes, but a shared server requires precise delineation, judicial oversight and protection of third-party data.
Values The rule of law, proportionality and international cooperation.
Consequences A careful procedure can protect both law enforcement and digital rights; uncertainty about the review harms both.
Right
Arguments The Netherlands must take requests for mutual legal assistance seriously when they fall within treaties and national procedures. Digital infrastructure must not become a safe haven for organisations that, according to an ally, facilitate terrorism.
Values Security, enforcement and reliability as an international partner.
Consequences Too much restraint may hamper investigations, but an overly broad transfer may affect Dutch interests and business confidence.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The factual core was confirmed by ANP on the basis of a police confirmation and supplemented by the official US sanctions decision. The data being transferred and the review of this specific request for mutual legal assistance remain unknown.
- confirmed Amsterdam police seized a server at a data centre in Amsterdam-Oost on 13 October. — ANP reports this on the basis of confirmation by the police. source
- confirmed The server belongs to Autistici/Inventati. — This is stated in the ANP report. source
- confirmed The US authorities placed Autistici/Inventati on a terrorism sanctions list on 26 August. — The date and designation appear in the Federal Register. source
- confirmed Police are making a copy of the data available to the United States. — This is reported by ANP. source
- confirmed It is not known exactly which user data will be transferred. — According to ANP, police say they cannot indicate which data will be handed over. source
Editor's note
The seizure and digital copy were confirmed by police via ANP. The precise suspicion, the users involved and the legal review of this specific request are not public.Sources
- Politie Amsterdam neemt server in beslag op Amerikaans verzoek — ANP via ZeelandNet
- Notice of OFAC Actions — U.S. Federal Register
- ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2024:4640 — Rechtbank Amsterdam
More on this in Dutch media
- NOS — „amsterdam politie”
- Het Parool — „amsterdam politie”
- Trouw — „amsterdam politie”