Minnesota residents are organizing against proposed hyperscale data centers, especially Google-linked projects in Pine Island and Hermantown, citing secrecy through NDAs, inadequate environmental review, and issues with water use, electricity, noise pollution and more.
As tech companies race to build data centers, more communities are pushing back
Concerns about electricity bills and local impacts are fueling bipartisan opposition to the massive data centers that power the digital economy, from cloud services to AI chatbots. In Wisconsin, as in other states, the tussles are personal – and fraught.
I think the data center backlash is mostly about data centers
It’s probably not your ideological thing, or mine. It’s about object-level claims about how data centers impact the communities where they’re built, many of which are wrong.
I think the data center backlash is mostly about data centers
It’s probably not your ideological thing, or mine. It’s about object-level claims about how data centers impact the communities where they’re built, many of which are wrong.
People Hate Datacenters, Survey Finds
The data drops as Sen. Bernie Sanders calls for a moratorium on datacenter construction. 'We need to take a deep breath. We need to make sure that AI and robotics work for all of us, not just a handful of billionaires.'
Are AI data centers coming to your area?
This free, crowd-sourced tracker website is one of the most comprehensive attempts we’ve seen to keep tabs on where new data centers are being proposed. Maps are currently available across 18 states, with data compiled from public sources. You can read about the Data Center Proposal Tracker creator’s methodology here. [Image: Here’s a screenshot from the tracker showing sites around NYC. https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-16-100907.jpg?quality=90&strip=all]
Expanding our use of Google Cloud TPUs and Services
Announcing a dramatic increase in Anthropic's compute resources
Is the Left Making a ‘Massive Strategic Blunder’ on Data Centers?
A conversation with Holly Jean Buck, author of a buzzy story about Bernie Sanders’ proposal for a national data center moratorium.
Elon Musk's Memphis AI empire is the epicenter of the data center backlash
Data center-related policy proposals, protests and litigation are underway across the country citing Colossus and Memphis as a cautionary tale.
‘Order from Amazon’: Tech giants storing mass data for Israel’s war
The Israeli army is using Amazon’s cloud service and AI from Google and Microsoft for military activities in Gaza, investigation reveals.
Dave Troy on Twitter / X
Fears over datacenters are distorted along a few important axes:1) anxiety over AI, future employment, and control; they symbolize what people fear they are losing,2) compute centralization, which is actually probably not going to actually occur, because of financial…— Dave Troy (@davetroy) August 21, 2026
Data Center Watch
Free weekly updates on the political risks facing American data center projects
Data centers are facing an image problem. The tech industry is spending millions to rebrand them.
Through television ads and online campaigns, industry-backed groups are promising jobs, clean energy, and lower electricity bills.
With the backlash to data centers, Flock and AI glasses, a mass opposition to big tech is underway. Silicon Valley is in denial.
The backlash against data centers is difficult to understand if your salary depends on your not understanding it.
US views of how data centers affect the environment, energy costs, jobs and more
A broad majority of Americans have heard about data centers – the often-sprawling computing facilities that are popping up nationwide. But the public has mixed opinions about data centers’ impact…
What Happens When Data Centers Come to Town?
The rapid growth of data centers, with their enormous energy and water demands, necessitates targeted policy interventions to mitigate environmental impacts and protect local communities. To address these issues, states with existing data center tax breaks should adopt sustainable growth policies for data centers, mandating energy audits, strict performance standards, and renewable energy integration, while also requiring transparency in energy usage reporting. “Renewable energy additionality” clauses should ensure data centers contribute to new renewable capacity rather than relying on existing resources.
