October 12, 2004 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- According to a report by Infoshop.org, last week's seizure by US authorities of Rackspace Managed Hosting (rackspace.com) servers hosting Indymedia (indymedia.org) Web sites, came as a result of a request by Italian and Swiss authorities.
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US authorities seized an undetermined number of servers from Rackspace's facilities in London last Thursday morning after a US federal order was issued. The seizure took place after posts were made, on an Indymedia Web site, that included photographs of two police officers investigating the anti-globlization riots that occurred in 2003 during the G-8 summit. The photos were reportedly posted anonymously and included the name and address of one of the officers.
The attorney general of Geneva did not confirm if the FBI was acting in response to its request, the report said. However, a spokesperson for the US ministry of justice reportedly confirmed that the order given to Rackspace to turn over its servers was made by the ministry on behalf of Swiss and Italian authorities.
Indymedia, formally known as Independent Media Center, is a collective of media organizations and journalists committed to non-corporate media coverage. The organization was established in 1999.
The seizure of servers caused over 20 of Indymedia's approximately 140 Web sites to go offline. Rackspace, with operations in both the US and the UK, commented briefly on the matter, citing a court order pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, which establishes procedures for countries to assist each other in investigations such as international terrorism, kidnapping and money laundering.
