Activists Occupy Microsoft Data Center Construction Site in Amsterdam Amid Europe AI Backlash

Activists broke into the construction site of a planned Microsoft data centre in Amsterdam on Friday, climbing barriers, lighting flares and hanging banners as Europe-wide protests against energy-hungry AI infrastructure gathered pace.

Editorial illustration of a data center construction site near an industrial harbor with crane and scaffolding, no logos or identifiable people

Illustration: editorial depiction of a data-center construction site; not a photograph of the protest.

Members of the Dutch direct-action group Geef Tegengas entered the Westpoort site, owned by Pure Data Centres and leased to Microsoft. Some climbed a crane and scaffolding, lit flares and attached helium balloons to equipment. Local media and organisers described hundreds of people on both sides of the fence. Dutch news agency ANP reported that police detained roughly 150 to 200 people for trespassing; other protesters left voluntarily.

What happened at the Amsterdam site

According to reporting by The Guardian and AFP, Geef Tegengas activists scaled temporary fencing at the Sloterdijk/Westpoort construction campus. Once inside, they shouted slogans, sprayed messages on unfinished walls and hung banners objecting to Microsoft’s cloud services for the Israeli military and for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Police told Dutch public broadcaster NOS they tried to stop the occupation and make arrests, used force when they could not prevent it, and that one officer was slightly injured. Protesters from both the break-in group and a separate outside demonstration said police used force and teargas. Accounts of injuries and crowd size differ between organisers, local media and the police statement.

The facility is a roughly €1 billion Pure DC campus expected to draw about 78 megawatts once complete. Critics, including Geef Tegengas spokesman Nathan Timmer, told AFP the centre would use as much energy as all Amsterdam households combined and large amounts of cooling water. Activist Roos Molenaar told The Guardian the project was “gulping up our drinking water” for AI systems.

Separate from “Stop Dirty Data Centres”

Friday’s break-in was distinct from the pan-European “Stop Dirty Data Centres” campaign, a two-day series of actions involving more than 100 groups that demanded moratoria on new data-centre construction. Affiliates of that coalition protested the same Amsterdam site but stayed outside the perimeter, according to The Guardian.

The coalition, which includes national branches of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, said it had not coordinated the fence-crossing action. Campaign coordinator Owen Espley said communities are often shut out of decisions about large data-centre projects and that limited transparency fuels public concern over local environments, power grids and water.

Smaller actions also took place Friday in Bristol (UK), at a data centre in Berlin, outside Poland’s parliament in Warsaw, and in Zagreb’s main square. Further protests were expected Saturday. Environmental group Fossielvrij joined the Amsterdam occupation alongside Geef Tegengas, AFP reported.

Company responses

A Microsoft spokesperson said the company was aware of the demonstration, that wellbeing around the site was the first concern, and that it respects peaceful expression of views but “do[es] not condone any actions that are unlawful or that put people’s safety at risk.”

Pure Data Centres said it respects peaceful protest but that entering a live construction site is unlawful and dangerous. The company asked those on site to leave safely and to engage in dialogue about the development and any concerns.

Why it matters / What’s next

Data centres have become a flashpoint across Europe and the United States as governments race to host AI computing capacity. Critics cite electricity demand on grids still partly fossil-fuelled, water used for cooling, noise and land use, and questions about local jobs. Supporters argue the facilities bring tax revenue and keep countries competitive with U.S. and Chinese AI buildouts.

In this week’s U.S. midterm elections, nearly every proposed local moratorium on data centres that appeared on ballots was approved, The Guardian reported — a political signal that runs parallel to Europe’s street protests. Further “Stop Dirty Data Centres” actions were planned for Saturday. Police processing of detainees in Amsterdam and any dialogue between Pure DC, Microsoft and community groups will shape the immediate aftermath.