Internet Society Italia (Internet Society), of which GARR is a member and supporter, has expressed serious concern over the deactivation of the autistici.org domain by the Public Interest Registry (PIR).
The decision follows the designation of Autistici/Inventati — a non-profit collective based in Italy that provides Internet services — as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT) by the United States Government.
What happened
The designation of Autistici/Inventati was announced by the US Department of State on 26 August 2026. As a consequence, on 28 August PIR deactivated the domain worldwide.
Internet Society Italia’s position
In a letter addressed to Jon Nevett, President and CEO of PIR, and Sally Wentworth, President and CEO of Internet Society, with copies to Kurt Erik Lindqvist, President and CEO of ICANN, and Frederic Taes, President of EURALO, the President of Internet Society Italia, Prof. Stefano Giordano, expressed the association’s concern and highlighted the current absence of evidence demonstrating Autistici/Inventati’s direct involvement in terrorist activities.
The letter raises a broader issue: the possibility that an Internet service provider could be targeted because of the actions of some of its users or because of its political positions, potentially resulting in its exclusion from the global Internet without evidence that the registrant itself participated in or supported terrorist activities. According to the association, this prospect should concern anyone who believes in an open and free Internet.
The global nature of the .org domain
Internet Society Italia expresses particular concern about the role played by the Public Interest Registry in implementing the domain deactivation. The association acknowledges that, as a US legal entity, PIR was effectively unable to disregard government orders within its jurisdiction. However, it considers such action incompatible with the image that the .org domain claims for itself: that of a safe and natural home for non-profit organisations and their domain names worldwide. For Internet Society Italia, this stated commitment cannot remain merely a declaration of intent, but must be backed by concrete action.
Internet Society Italia emphasises the global, rather than US-specific, nature of the .org domain, considering it an essential resource for freedom of expression and association online. Its management, the association argues, should reflect this purpose, as originally envisaged when the domain was assigned, on an indefinite basis, to Internet Society and its operational subsidiary, PIR.
In the view of Internet Society Italia, those responsible for managing the .org domain should work to ensure that no government can exercise control over the online presence of non-profit organisations that neither belong to its jurisdiction nor operate within it and, more broadly, that no single government can determine, anywhere in the world, who may retain or must lose a .org domain.
The requests
Internet Society Italia therefore calls on PIR and Internet Society to take concrete steps to establish adequate legal safeguards to protect them from orders of this kind issued by the US Government, thereby preventing a similar situation from occurring in the future. Possible measures identified by the association include reconsidering the legal domicile of both organisations, as well as introducing safeguards for essential providers supporting the operation of the .org TLD registry.
The letter concludes by expressing the hope for constructive dialogue with Internet Society and with the wider Internet governance community.
The episode thus reopens the debate on the global governance of the Internet and on the relationship between national sanctions and a network that, by its very nature, knows no borders.
Go to the Internet Society Italia statement