Activists have stormed the site of a Microsoft datacentre being built in Amsterdam, as the backlash to the social and environmental harms of the AI boom spreads across Europe.
Protesters from Geef Tegengas, a Dutch direct action group, clashed with police while breaking into a construction site at Westpoort, Amsterdam, where some members climbed a crane, lit flares and tied helium balloons to equipment.
The action comes amid Europe-wide resistance to the rapid expansion of energy-hungry AI, with more than ۱۰۰ groups involved in a two-day series of protests to demand moratoria on the construction of new datacentres.
The break-in at the Dutch site, where protesters hung banners objecting to Microsoft’s services to the Israeli military and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was separate from the pan-European “Stop Dirty Data Centres” campaign, which targeted the same site but whose affiliated members stayed outside the perimeter fence.
Police said in a statement to NOS, a Dutch public broadcaster: “The police attempted to prevent [the occupation] and arrest protesters, but were unable to prevent it and force was used.
“An officer was slightly injured during the protest.”
Protesters from both groups said police used force and teargas to dispel the activists trying to enter the construction site. Organisers and local media reported hundreds of protesters on each side of the fence.
Smaller protests took place in the centre of Bristol, in the UK, at a datacentre in Berlin, Germany, outside the Polish parliament in Warsaw and at the main square in Zagreb, Croatia. Further protests are expected on Saturday.
Stop Dirty Data Centres, a coalition of independent groups that include national branches of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, said it had not coordinated or promoted the direct action that took place in the Netherlands, but that is was “understandable” communities would turn to a range of tactics when they were unable to meaningfully participate in decision-making.
“Big tech and government are racing ahead with large-scale datacentre development despite significant public concern about the impacts on local communities, natural resources and other industries,” said Owen Espley, campaign coordinator. “Many datacentre developments are planned with limited transparency or scrutiny, while communities across Europe are being shut out of decisions that will shape their local environments and futures.”
The ecological fallout of the datacentre boom has alarmed some climate scientists, while growing frustration with AI’s societal impact – from energy bills and job losses to the role of tech companies in undermining democracy – has increased public anger. In the US midterm elections this week, nearly every proposed moratorium on datacentres on the ballot was approved.
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Roos Molenaar, an activist from Geef Tegengas, said the struggle against big tech was inseparable from the fight against oppression and fascism. “We won’t accept Amsterdam being used for the creation of AI slop and the facilitation of genocide,” said Molenaar. “This datacentre is gulping up our drinking water to make the rich even richer.”
A spokesperson for Microsoft said it was aware of the demonstration and that its first concern was the wellbeing of everyone at and around the site. “We understand that people feel strongly about the project, and we respect their right to express those views peacefully. However, we do not condone any actions that are unlawful or that put people’s safety at risk.”
A spokesperson for Pure Data Centres, the site owner, said it respected the right to peaceful protest but that entering a live construction site was unlawful and dangerous.
“Our immediate priority is everyone’s safety, and we respectfully ask those on site to leave safely and engage with us in dialogue about the development and any concerns they may have,” a Pure DC spokesperson said.
Governments across Europe have supported the building of AI datacentres to boost tax revenues and catch up with the breakneck deployment of computing power in the US and China, with some framing the AI race as a matter of national security.
But datacentres have emerged as a flashpoint for public anger over issues from environment and energy to human rights and democracy. Last week, an investigation by the Guardian and Investigate Europe found evidence of dangerous conditions for some of the workers building them.
