Protesters enter Microsoft data center construction site in Amsterdam

In short: Protesters entered a construction site for a new Microsoft data center near Amsterdam, adding to a wider wave of protests about data centers in Europe.

What's going on

Protesters broke into a construction site for a new Microsoft data center on the outskirts of Amsterdam on Friday morning. The protest was organized with help from a group called Geef Tegengas.

According to Reuters, around 100 people got into the site. Some climbed a crane and hung a banner with an anti-AI message. Protesters also displayed a banner accusing Microsoft of supporting violence and chanted slogans calling for Microsoft to leave and supporting Palestine.

The site is planned to include three 85-meter data center towers. A data center is a large building filled with computers that store data and run online services (like a warehouse, but for digital information). The Verge reports that Microsoft would be the only tenant, and that the project traces back to plans from 2016.

The protest comes despite Amsterdam having policies that restrict new data centers until 2030. The report says this project is moving forward because it was planned before the ban and because the developer found ways to meet the rules.

What to watch

Protests like this are happening in other places, too, including a recent demonstration outside a Microsoft data center in Dublin. As more companies build data centers to support AI and other online services, local fights over land use, electricity, and community impact may become more common, and cities may tighten rules or enforcement.

Source: The Verge AI