Protesters broke into the construction site of a Microsoft data centre in Amsterdam on Friday, climbing cranes and setting off flares, at the start of a two-day campaign against the rapid spread of artificial intelligence infrastructure across Europe.
More than 100 activists gathered at the site in the city's Sloterdijk district, according to Reuters, before breaking through the perimeter, marching arm in arm, hanging balloons and dancing while police stood by. Dutch police said they detained between 150 and 200 people on suspicion of trespassing, according to Al Jazeera.
The action, organised by the Dutch direct-action group Geef Tegengas — "Push Back" — opened a coordinated weekend of protests under the banner of the "Stop Dirty Data Centres" coalition, which says actions are planned in 16 countries on Friday and Saturday. The campaign continues on Saturday, with further actions expected in several European cities.
What happened in Amsterdam
The site, on Plimsollweg in Sloterdijk, is being developed by Pure Data Centres, which plans to invest more than $1 billion in the project and is backed by Brookfield-owned Oaktree, according to Reuters.
Some demonstrators climbed a construction crane and set off flares, according to Al Jazeera, while others clashed with police. By late afternoon, police were escorting activists off the construction site, though some remained, local media reported.
Nathan Timmer, of Geef Tegengas, told local broadcaster AT5 that demonstrators were occupying the site in an effort to stop construction.
"We don't want it to be built. Nobody needs it."
— Nathan Timmer, Geef Tegengas, speaking to AT5
Pro-Palestinian activists also joined the demonstrations in the Dutch capital, according to Al Jazeera.
A two-day campaign across Europe
The Amsterdam break-in was the opening action of a weekend of coordinated protests. According to Reuters, other planned actions include a march in Dublin, a protest outside the parliament building in Warsaw, and a demonstration against a different Microsoft data centre in Denmark.
| City | Action |
|---|---|
| Amsterdam, Netherlands | Activists break into Microsoft data centre construction site; 150–200 detained |
| Dublin, Ireland | March planned as part of the two-day campaign |
| Warsaw, Poland | Protest outside parliament; about 100 people demonstrated in front of the building |
| Denmark | Demonstration against a different Microsoft data centre |
| Berlin, Germany | A dozen protesters gathered in front of a data centre on the outskirts of the city |
| Italy | Growing grassroots opposition, particularly in the northern Lombardy region |
Dozens of civil society and grassroots groups have said they will join the "Stop Dirty Data Centres" events on Friday and Saturday in 15 European countries, including Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom, according to the organisers.
Why data centres are the target
Campaigners say data centres put pressure on electricity and water supplies, compete with housing and other businesses for scarce resources and threaten climate goals, according to Reuters. They also point to job losses and potential risks to personal and national security from private companies and big tech concentrating power.
Data centres face resistance around the world because of the massive amounts of computing power and water they use, Al Jazeera noted, with activists arguing that the boom in facilities serving cloud computing and AI is moving faster than public consultation and environmental oversight.
The coalition says it is not anti-progress and is not calling for existing data centres to be closed. It wants major new construction halted until governments establish clearer rules, Reuters reported.
The industry's response
Microsoft said it understood that people had strong feelings about the project and respected their right to express them peacefully but did not condone any unlawful actions, according to Reuters.
Pure Data Centres said it was committed to engagement with local stakeholders and asked those on site to leave safely and engage in dialogue about the development and any concerns they may have.
"AI, of course, is a super important technology and we need to have our own capacity... it's very important for citizens that they can trust that their energy bills are not skyrocketing and there's not electricity blackouts because of data centres, or they are not destroying the environment with these projects."
— Henna Virkkunen, EU tech chief, speaking to Reuters
Virkkunen, the European Union's tech chief, told Reuters on Thursday that Europe needed more data centres to power AI development, though she added it needed to be done with care.
The wider picture: the Netherlands has about 200 data centres either planned, under construction or in operation, according to Reuters. A Google project in Finland faces a criminal probe over land clearances, Italy and Portugal are tightening environmental regulation for data centres, and Microsoft pulled out of a UK data centre project that was hit by infrastructure delays. In the United States, the midterm elections brought in Democrats promising to clamp down on data centres, and concern that tighter regulation could curtail the AI boom helped drive a second day of sharp losses in technology shares on Friday.
What is not yet known: it is not yet clear how many of those detained will face charges, whether Saturday's planned actions will go ahead as announced, or whether the Amsterdam incident will affect the project's timetable.
Frequently asked questions
What happened at the Amsterdam site?
On Friday, more than 100 activists gathered at the construction site of a Microsoft data centre in Amsterdam's Sloterdijk district, broke into the site, climbed a crane and set off flares. Dutch police said they detained between 150 and 200 people on suspicion of trespassing.
Who organised the protest?
The Amsterdam action was organised by the Dutch direct-action group Geef Tegengas ("Push Back"). It opened a two-day, Europe-wide campaign by the "Stop Dirty Data Centres" coalition, which brings together environmental groups and digital rights campaigns calling for a pause on large-scale data centre construction.
Why are campaigners targeting data centres?
They argue that data centres consume huge amounts of electricity and water, compete with housing and other businesses for scarce resources, threaten climate goals, and concentrate power in the hands of big tech companies — and that the build-out is moving faster than public consultation and environmental oversight.
What do Microsoft and the developer say?
Microsoft said it respected the right to peaceful protest but did not condone unlawful actions. Pure Data Centres, the site's owner, said it was committed to engaging with local stakeholders and asked those on site to leave safely and discuss their concerns.
What happens next?
The campaign's second day of actions is scheduled for Saturday, including a march in Dublin, a protest outside the parliament building in Warsaw and a demonstration against a Microsoft data centre in Denmark. Any police statement on charges, and any response from Microsoft or Pure Data Centres on the project's timetable, will show whether the protest changes anything on the ground.
Key takeaways
- Activists broke into a Microsoft data centre construction site in Amsterdam on Friday, climbing a crane and setting off flares; Dutch police detained 150–200 people.
- The action opened a two-day "Stop Dirty Data Centres" campaign with protests planned in 16 countries, driven by concerns over the energy, water and climate costs of AI infrastructure.
- Microsoft and the developer, Pure Data Centres, said they respected peaceful protest but did not condone unlawful actions.
- The EU's tech chief says Europe needs more data centres for AI — but with care, so energy bills do not soar and the environment is not damaged.
- The campaign continues on Saturday, with actions planned in Dublin, Warsaw, Denmark and elsewhere.
The Amsterdam break-in is the most confrontational moment yet in a backlash that has been building across Europe for months — and the second day of protests will show whether it was a one-off or the start of a sustained campaign. What matters next is not only what happens on the streets on Saturday, but whether governments answer the coalition's central demand: clearer rules before the next wave of construction begins.
