Europewide protests planned against AI data centers expansion

A campaign called "Stop Dirty Data Centres" called for Europewide mobilization on Friday and Saturday to protest the growing expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers across the region.

"Local communities are rising up to stop dirty data centers where they live. We will unite and exercise our democratic rights to speak out, assemble, and protest to hold elected officials to account," the campaign wrote on its webpage.

It called for an "immediate moratorium" on large data centers in Europe.

"The explosion of AI data centers across our towns and cities is taking a toll that we can no longer afford," the group noted.

The campaign pointed to the impacts of data center developments on local communities, jobs, the economy, as well as the climate crisis and water shortages.

Organizers also warned of housing shortages, rising energy bills, toxic supply chains, increased surveillance and the erosion of privacy. They also warned that big tech power was undermining their democracies.

"By coordinating our actions, we demonstrate the power we have to halt the unchecked expansion of AI data centers and prevent our democracy from being taken hostage by big tech industry interests," the campaign further said.

It called on leaders to implement moratoriums at the local, national and European levels to pause data center construction until people "have democratically decided what is needed to ensure AI and data centers serve people and the planet, not private greed."

Several protests are planned throughout Friday and Saturday in countries such as France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Croatia, Poland, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Finland.