Netherlands: Protesters storm Amsterdam data centre construction site
Reported by 25 outlets in the past day, including Al Jazeera, Euronews, DW.
1What happened
Protesters broke into a data centre construction site intended for Microsoft in Amsterdam, on 6 November, climbing cranes and unfurling banners denouncing artificial intelligence and the company's alleged involvement in the war in Gaza. Euronews ↗
2Compared to what
America’s great building booms, compared
At an estimated 3.6% of the economy a year, the AI build-out is larger than the railroad boom and more than three times the highway program. AI spending is an estimate. Source: Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 23, 2026
3Also reported
Greenpeace activists unfurled a giant 26-by-26-metre banner outside a data centre construction site in Beringen, northeastern Switzerland, on Friday 6 November, protesting against the growing environmental impact of major technology companies. Euronews ↗
Sources
- Protesters break into Microsoft data centre site in Amsterdam ↗Al Jazeera
- Switzerland: Giant banner targets Big Tech outside data centre site ↗Euronews
- Data center protesters break into Microsoft site in Amsterdam ↗DW
- Two days of anti-data center protests planned across Europe ↗DatacenterDynamics
- Netherlands: Protesters storm Amsterdam data centre construction site ↗Euronews
- Protesters break into Microsoft data center site in Amsterdam as Europe’s backlash spreads ↗AP News