Protesters break into Microsoft data center site in Amsterdam as Europe’s backlash spreads

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Protesters broke into a construction site for a new Microsoft data center in Amsterdam on Friday, with some climbing a crane and setting off flares while others clashed with police, the latest action in a growing anti-data.

What happened

Nathan Timmer of the protest group Geef Tegengas, a phrase that translates as Push Back, informed local broadcaster AT5 that protesters were occupying the site in a bid to stop construction.

Campaigners against data centers in Europe are projected to stage protests and other actions in a number of countries on Friday and Saturday, demanding a moratorium on large-scale developments to address social and environmental reservations around the energy-hungry behemoths.

"We don't want it to be built. Nobody needs it, " Timmer remarked. "The only thing this will be applied for is AI slop. AI warfare, data surveillance and committing genocides. We don't want that, " he continued, vowing to continue protesting until construction is halted.

The bottom line

Taken together, the developments around protesters break into Microsoft data center site in Amsterdam as Europe's backlash point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.