About 100 people broke into the construction site of a Microsoft data center in Amsterdam this morning, with some scaling a crane to place a "fuck AI" banner, according to Reuters. The protest was part of a wave of anti-data-center demonstrations across Europe.
Members of the Geef Tegengas group helped organize the protest against the construction of three 85-meter data center towers on the outskirts of Amsterdam. Protesters unfurled a "Microsoft powers genocide" banner on the site and chanted "Microsoft has got to go" and "free Palestine."
The action comes more than a year after Amsterdam banned new data centers until 2030, following a temporary stop announced at the end of 2023. Microsoft will be the sole tenant of the new data center, a project planned as far back as 2016, before the ban was introduced. The site is being built by British developer Pure Data Centres and has reached construction after navigating some loopholes.
This week, activists staged a mock Israeli military checkpoint outside a Microsoft data center in Dublin on Tuesday, part of a wave of data center protests across Europe. Earlier this week, voters across the US also rejected unrestrained development of data centers. Microsoft abandoned the UK's largest data center project last month after local electricity grid officials said the site would not be supplied with power until the 2030s.
Microsoft has also faced a wave of protests from former employees over the past year. The company's 50th anniversary party was interrupted by employees protesting the use of Microsoft's technologies in Israel's war against Hamas, with one calling Microsoft's AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, a "war profiteer." A Microsoft employee also disrupted the company's Build developer conference last year, interrupting CEO Satya Nadella's keynote. Months later, Microsoft fired two employee protesters who had occupied its president's office.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The protest links Microsoft's data center expansion to its technologies being used in Israel's war against Hamas, turning infrastructure disputes into political protests.
- Amsterdam's ban on new data centers runs to 2030, but the project on this site predates that ban, raising questions about how moratoriums apply to already planned development.
- With similar protests in Dublin and US voters rejecting data center growth, opposition could affect where Microsoft and other providers build next.
Background
In late 2023, Amsterdam announced a temporary stop on new data centers and later banned them until 2030, reflecting growing local concerns about the industry. The wave of protests in Europe comes as demand for AI infrastructure has pushed companies to build large data centers quickly, often meeting resistance from communities over power, land and other local impacts. Microsoft, as a major AI and cloud provider, has become a central target of that opposition.
Key Perspectives
Geef Tegengas and protesters at the site: organized opposition to the three 85-meter towers, unfurling a banner that read "Microsoft powers genocide" and chanting "Microsoft has got to go."
Former Microsoft employees: have protested the company's technologies being used in Israel's war against Hamas, with one calling AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman a "war profiteer."
What to Watch
- Whether construction at the Amsterdam site continues after the break-in and despite the city's ban on new data centers.
- Whether this week's actions in Amsterdam and Dublin signal further European protests at Microsoft sites.
- How data center developers respond to US voters rejecting unrestrained expansion earlier this week.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedProtesters broke into a Microsoft data center construction site in Amsterdam.The Verge: “Protesters have broken into a construction site of a new Microsoft data center in Amsterdam this morning.”
- SupportedSome protesters scaled a crane as banners were unfurled amid a wave of data-center protests across Europe.The Verge: “Europe is witnessing a wave of protests against data centers. Reuters reports that around 100 people made it into the construction site, with some scaling a crane to place a “fuck AI” banner. Protesters also unfurled a “Microsoft powers genocide” banner”
- SupportedAbout 100 people broke into the site, according to Reuters.The Verge: “Reuters reports that around 100 people made it into the construction site”
- SupportedSome protesters placed a “fuck AI” banner on a crane.The Verge: “with some scaling a crane to place a “fuck AI” banner.”
- SupportedProtesters unfurled a “Microsoft powers genocide” banner.The Verge: “Protesters also unfurled a “Microsoft powers genocide” banner on the construction site”
- SupportedProtesters chanted “Microsoft has got to go” and “free Palestine.”The Verge: “and chanted “Microsoft has got to go” and “free Palestine.””
- SupportedThe protest opposed construction of three 85-meter data center towers on Amsterdam’s outskirts.The Verge: “Members of the Geef Tegengas group helped organize the protest against the construction of three 85-meter data center towers in the outskirts of Amsterdam.”
- SupportedAmsterdam banned new data centers until 2030, more than a year before this protest, after a temporary stop announced at the end of 2023.The Verge: “Opposition to the new data center in Amsterdam comes more than a year after the city banned new data centers until 2030, after a temporary stop that was announced at the end of 2023.”
- SupportedMicrosoft will be the sole tenant of the new data center.The Verge: “Microsoft will be the sole tenant of this new data center”
- SupportedActivists staged a mock Israeli military checkpoint outside a Microsoft data center in Dublin on Tuesday during the same week as the Amsterdam protest.The Verge: “The protests over Microsoft’s data center site in Amsterdam comes in the same week that activists staged a mock Israeli military checkpoint outside a Microsoft data center in Dublin on Tuesday”
- SupportedMicrosoft abandoned the UK’s largest data center project last month after local electricity grid officials said it would not receive power until the 2030s.The Verge: “Microsoft also abandoned the UK’s largest data center project last month, after local electricity grid officials said the site won’t be supplied with power until the 2030s.”
- SupportedAt Microsoft’s 50th anniversary party, an employee called AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman a “war profiteer.”The Verge: “Microsoft’s 50th anniversary party was interrupted by employees protesting the use of Microsoft’s technologies in Israel’s war against Hamas, with one calling Microsoft’s AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, a “war profiteer.“”
