Protesters break into Microsoft data centre site in Amsterdam

What the report says

Protesters in the Netherlands broke into a Microsoft data centre construction site in Amsterdam’s Sloterdijk district on Friday, part of a broader wave of demonstrations across Europe targeting data centres and their environmental impact. According to Al Jazeera, several hundred activists took part in the occupation after a call for a two-day protest campaign against facilities that support cloud computing and artificial intelligence workloads.

The Amsterdam protest involved clashes with police, with some demonstrators climbing a crane and lighting flares. Al Jazeera reported that members of the Dutch group Geef Tegengas, which means Push Back, said they wanted to stop the project from being built. Pro-Palestinian activists also joined the action, and local media said police were escorting people off the site by late afternoon. Dutch police said 150 to 200 people were detained on suspicion of trespassing.

Microsoft said it was aware of the demonstration and said it respected peaceful expression, while opposing unlawful acts or behaviour that could endanger safety. The company’s data centre project became a focal point for criticism amid wider concerns from activists about the large amounts of electricity and water used by data centres.

Al Jazeera noted that similar protests were taking place in several European countries, including Germany, Poland, Italy and others, as civil society groups argued that the rapid expansion of data infrastructure is outpacing environmental oversight and public consultation.