The key facts

  • More than 100 protesters broke into the Microsoft data center construction site in Amsterdam's Sloterdijk district; police made arrests
  • The action opened a two-day international campaign against large data centers in 16 countries
  • The Pure Data Centres project for Microsoft is valued at more than $1 billion; organizers are demanding a construction pause

Occupation of the construction site and police intervention

On November 6, activists broke into the construction site of a future Microsoft data center in Amsterdam's Sloterdijk district. According to Euronews, about 100 demonstrators entered the site, using ladders to get over the fence and cutting an opening in it; organizers claimed several hundred participants. Some protesters climbed a construction crane and unfurled a banner with a slogan against AI, while others carried Palestinian flags and placards accusing Microsoft of supporting genocide. Police cordoned off the site, and after the mayor ordered the action to be stopped, special units intervened; several arrests were reported.

Course of the action according to Dutch and German media

The Dutch public broadcaster NOS, cited by Anadolu, reports that dozens of demonstrators entered the site around midday; police warned that those refusing to leave could be arrested. According to police, protesters climbed the crane and the roof of the building under construction. One person was detained on suspicion of obstructing construction work, and one police officer sustained a minor injury. Deutsche Welle writes that activists walked Sam van der Beek, told the outlet:

Who is protesting and against what

The action was organized by the Dutch activist collective Geef Tegengas, with a parallel mobilization by the environmental group Fossielvrij NL, which opposes data centers in part because of their energy consumption. The project, which Pure Data Centres is building for Microsoft, envisions three towers about 85 meters tall and investments of over $1 billion (around €890 million). Protesters claim the facilities could consume as much electricity as all Amsterdam households combined — an estimate that, as Euronews notes, has not been independently verified. Some of the slogans were tied to the Palestinian issue: one demonstrator, according to Anadolu, said the Israeli army is a Microsoft client.

International campaign and demands

The Amsterdam action opened two days of protests in 16 countries: the Stop Dirty Data Centres coalition announced a march in Dublin, an action outside the Polish parliament, and a demonstration against another Microsoft data center in Denmark. The coalition is demanding a pause in the construction of large AI data centers due to the strain on electricity and water, competition for resources with housing, and threats to climate goals; at the same time, it is not calling for existing centers to be shut down, but is pushing governments for clearer rules before large-scale construction continues. Technology companies, in Deutsche Welle's wording, consider data centers necessary infrastructure for AI and cloud services. Both companies — Pure Data Centres and Microsoft — said they respect peaceful protest but do not condone unlawful actions. Context on the industry's expansion: a Google project in Finland has become the subject of a criminal investigation over land clearing, while Italy and Portugal are tightening environmental requirements for data centers; in the Netherlands, according to Deutsche Welle, about 200 data centers are planned, under construction, or in operation.