'Stop dirty datacenters': Europe-wide protests planned demanding building moratorium

Campaigners across Europe are rallying against the expansion of datacenter facilities, demanding an immediate moratorium on new large-scale developments starting on November 6 and 7. Over 100 groups from 15 countries will participate in a coordinated action, including demonstrations, public meetings, stalls, petitions, walking tours, cycle rides, poetry readings, and other creative events. A website (<https://stopdirtydatacentres.eu>) provides information on the events and their locations.

In the UK, protests will take place outside the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in London and at a proposed site for a data campus near the former Truman Brewery in Great Torrington, Devon. The planned actions aim to raise awareness about the impact of new datacenter projects on local communities, public infrastructure, land, water, and energy use, housing, jobs, and the cost of living.

The protests are a response to growing concerns about the potential environmental, democratic, and social impacts of datacenter expansions without proper scrutiny. Campaigners argue that governments, the European Union, and tech giants are risking the future by proceeding with server farm developments without adequate examination of their consequences.

Oliver Hayes, Head of Campaigns at Global Action Plan (UK), calls for a moratorium until clear frameworks are established to determine the conditions under which new facilities should be built, with proper scrutiny and meaningful public participation. The British government, driven by economic growth ambitions in AI, is unlikely to support the proposed moratorium, having already overturned local council rejections of planning permission for server farm projects.

Datacenter development advocates argue that the industry took a "big hit" in the US midterm elections, but the anti-datacenter rhetoric has since intensified. Omdia analyst Alan Howard attributes the surge in anti-datacenter sentiment to its opportunistic use as a political football during the US campaigns. The planned actions in Europe include events in Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Finland, Spain, the Netherlands, France, and a march to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh for the following weekend.