Protesters from the protest group Geef Tegengas (English translation: Push Back), broke into a construction site for a new Microsoft data center in Amsterdam on November 6. Protesters were seen climbing a crane, setting off flares and clashing with police which resulted in 150 to 200 demonstrators being arrested.
The protest was part of a wider campaign against large scale data center developments across Europe. Dozens of civil society and grassroots groups planned demonstrations under the banner “Stop Dirty Data Centres” on November 6 and 7 in European countries that included Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France and the UK.
500 demonstrators had occupied the site to stop construction, Nathan Timmer, a member of the protest group Geef Tegengas (Push Back), told local broadcaster AT5, “We don’t want it to be built. Nobody needs it, the only thing this will be used for is AI slop. AI warfare, data surveillance, and committing genocides. We don’t want that.” he added, saying protests would continue until construction was halted.
Microsoft was aware of the demonstration and respected the right to peaceful protest. “We understand that people feel strongly about the project, and we respect their right to express those views peacefully,” a Microsoft spokesperson said. “However, we do not condone any actions that are unlawful or that put people’s safety at risk.” as reported by ChannelNewsAsia (CNA).
Owen Espley, Coordinator of StopDirtyDataCentres.eu, said, “There’s a gulf between where elected leaders are at in terms of buying into the hype about AI and where people are at.”
Pro-Palestinian activists also joined the demonstration. By late afternoon, police were escorting protesters away from the site, although some remained and one police officer was injured.
The environmental consequences of the data center boom have alarmed climate scientists, while mounting concerns about AI’s wider societal impact such as rising water usage at the detriment of residents, job displacement and tech companies’ role in eroding democratic institutions all of which have fuelled growing public anger.
Organisers are calling for a moratorium on large scale data center projects, citing concerns over their energy and water consumption and their wider social and environmental impact. The demonstrations come days after the US midterm elections, in which several Democrats pledged to push for tighter controls on data center development.