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In the latest<\/span> escalation of the Trump administration\u2019s war on the left, the U.S. government\u2019s designation of a popular antifascist webhosting provider as a terror group could shutter a swath of radical websites in the U.S.<\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Wednesday that they were targeting the Italy-based A\/I Collective with terror sanctions<\/a>. Federal law gives the Treasury Department broad discretion to apply the terror label to foreign groups.<\/p>\n A wide array of anarchist, antifascist, and far-left groups in the U.S. and abroad use the privacy-minded collective\u2019s offerings, including an anonymous email service and its popular noblogs.org blogging platform.<\/p>\n The practice of designating an internet platform and service provider as a terror group\u00a0\u2014 rather than those pursuing violence themselves \u2014 has \u201chuge\u201d implications for the future free speech on the internet, warned Jillian York, the director of international freedom of expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are going after the messenger,\u201d York said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that the members of the group would necessarily condone the actions of the people that they hosted. What they do condone is the freedom to host, the ability to be anonymous, the ability to be private.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProtesting is not terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n The A\/I Collective told The Intercept that it is exploring its legal options to fight the sanctions, which block U.S. citizens and companies from providing the group with financial support.<\/p>\n In an unsigned statement, the group said that it denies the U.S. government\u2019s allegations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAntifascism and anticapitalism are not terrorism,\u201d the group said. \u201cProtesting is not terrorism. And everyone has the right to speak out and to struggle for humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The U.S. government\u2019s move could have ripple effects far beyond Italy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Groups using the A\/I Collective\u2019s services range from an anarchist radio show in Asheville, North Carolina; to a blog documenting attacks on anti-abortion<\/a> \u201ccrisis pregnancy centers\u201d under the Jane\u2019s Revenge <\/a>moniker; to the Seattle Anarchist Bookfair. The bookfair warned<\/a> Wednesday that its website \u201cwill most likely go down soon because of US sanctions on Noblogs.\u201d<\/p>\n The State and Treasury Departments justified the designation by alleging that the A\/I Collective, also known as Autistici\/Inventati, has provided services to foreign terror groups, including anarchists who have launched attacks on railroads and pipelines in Europe, and by domestic left-wing groups that have employed violence.<\/p>\n \u201cA\/I\u2019s cadre of radical hackers and tech developers provide a full spectrum of services \u2014 including encrypted chats and email, web hosting, secure video conferencing and streaming, anonymity shields, and a suite of other technological tools \u2014 to Marxist, anarchist, and other left-wing extremist groups in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere,\u201d a State Department spokesperson said in a press release.<\/a> \u201cThese tools are specifically designed to support the operations of far-left terrorist networks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n