Protests Erupt Across Multiple European Countries Demanding a Pause on Data Center Construction

Odaily: A wave of protests against data center construction is spreading across multiple locations in Europe. On Saturday local time, people in several countries took to the streets to express concerns over the energy consumption, environmental damage, and social impact that the rapid expansion of data centers may bring.

It is reported that more than 100 civil society organizations and advocacy groups from 15 European countries participated in this joint action, protesting the rapid expansion of energy-intensive data centers and calling for a pause on all new large-scale data center projects until a clearer regulatory framework is established.

Approximately 2,000 people marched in Dublin on Saturday, about 1,300 gathered in Helsinki, and similar demonstrations were held in several smaller towns across Finland. A coalition of local democracy and climate protest groups called "Stop Dirty Data Centers" said the action aims to "stop the unchecked expansion of AI data centers and prevent our democratic institutions from being captured by the interests of Big Tech." From Scotland to Spain, from France to Denmark, environmental and social activist groups across the region also joined the action, calling for a moratorium on data center construction.