License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Letter to the Tweede Kamer: Protect Organisations from Sanctions Pressure
Together with 28 organisations, we sent a letter to the House of Representatives: protect European organisations from foreign sanctions pressure. The reason for this is the sanction imposed on the Italian internet service provider A/I, which was forced to cease its operations after both its domain name and its Italian bank account were blocked. This could affect any organisation that relies on the United States’s digital or financial infrastructure.
On 17 September 2026, PublicSpaces, together with 28 organisations, sent a joint letter to the House of Representatives and the cabinet. The message: protect European organisations and their users from foreign sanctions pressure, now that US sanctions are increasingly affecting innocent European parties as well.
What is going on?
Since 1848, freedom of expression, culture, and science, as well as freedom of the press and freedom of the printed press, have been enshrined in the Dutch Constitution. A democratic constitutional state can only function if these freedoms are properly safeguarded. That is why it is concerning that the US government is using sanctions to silence ideological opponents – sometimes directly, as in the case of the judges of the International Criminal Court, and sometimes indirectly, as in the case of the internet service Autistici/Inventati (A/I).
On August 26, the US sanctions authority OFAC placed the Italian internet service provider A/I on a sanctions list. A/I provides web hosting and email services to some 20,000 activist groups worldwide; the US government claims that A/I provides digital infrastructure to violent anti-fascist groups. A/I denies this. The consequences were disastrous: on August 28, autistici.org was blocked by the Public Interest Registry, the US administrator of .org domains, and on September 8, the Italian bank Banca Etica announced it would terminate its services to A/I within ten days – out of fear that it would otherwise be expelled from the US Visa payment system.
The Italian internet service provider A/I has since ceased operations.
Similarly, after being placed on a US sanctions list, the judges of the International Criminal Court based in the Netherlands were no longer able to conduct business with any European bank – a direct consequence of the European payment system’s dependence on US networks such as Visa and Mastercard.
These concerns are no longer hypothetical: a Dutch internet service provider has stated that it is no longer accepting orders from the International Criminal Court. On 14 September, MPs Kathmann and El Boujdaini had already submitted written questions on this matter to the State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. With this letter, we support those questions and broaden the picture: what is happening to the ICC is equally relevant to cultural and civil society organisations, whose hosting, domain names, and payment transactions are at risk of falling victim to US sanctions. This puts fundamental freedoms under pressure.
Our call: five measures
In the letter, we call on the House of Representatives and the government to take five measures:
1. Invest in independent European digital infrastructure
Give high priority to building an independent European digital infrastructure and promote open-source Dutch and European alternatives for cloud services, social media and payments. Let the government set a good example by hosting public services within the EU, whilst maintaining open standards and a single global internet.
2. Take diplomatic action
Speak out against the disproportionate impact of extraterritorial sanctions on European service providers and their users, and discuss this urgently with the US government – preferably at a European level. Also assess the role that the European Anti-Coercion Instrument can play in warding off pressure on the European internet sector.
3. Ensure European legal protection and practical assistance
Examine the possibility of extending the Blocking Statute – which currently covers only certain US measures concerning Cuba and Iran – and establish a point of contact, legal assistance and practical support. As long as cooperating as a precautionary measure remains the safest course of action, protection exists only on paper.
4. Protect banking services for organisations and businesses
Provide additional protection for organisations and businesses that lose access to banking services as a result of foreign sanctions, with individual assessments, reasons given, and a swift appeals process with banks and regulators – whilst maintaining existing sanctions and rules against money laundering and terrorist financing.
5. Safeguard digital and financial services for the International Criminal Court
In line with the Netherlands’ responsibility as host country, draw up an interdepartmental plan to ensure that digital and financial services remain available to the Court – keeping the Court, banks, and Dutch suppliers involved.
What are we asking of the cabinet?
We ask the cabinet to provide a response regarding immediate assistance in the event of an imminent disruption, in conjunction with its reply to the parliamentary questions of 14 September 2026 and, in any event, before the committee debate on ‘Digitalisation of Government and Supervision’ on 30 September. We also request a plan within six weeks setting out concrete measures, the ministers responsible, and deadlines – and that the House takes this letter into account during that debate.
Co-signed by:
Bits of Freedom
BovenJan
CODE for NL
Coalitie Eerlijk Digitaal Onderwijs
DOSBA
DoeiDag
Dutch Cloud Community
EYE Filmmuseum
Framer Framed
Freedom Internet
Gebiedonline
Greenhost
IMPAKT
Internet Society Nederland
Mentaal.nl
Mediamatic
NextCloud
NLUUG
OID Foundation
Open Nederland
Open State Foundation
Post X Society
SETUP
Soverin
Stichting Privacy by Design
Tetem
The Good Cloud
Waag Futurelab
- Parliamentary Documents: The consequences of American sanctions policy for the European internet sector
- House of Representatives concerned about American control over the internet sector
- The Irish Times: US sanctions lock International Criminal Court judge out of daily life
Links
- Brief aan de Tweede Kamer: Bescherm Europese organisaties tegen buitenlandse sanctiedruk
Attachments
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