A group of protestors stormed the construction site of a massive Microsoft data centre located on the outskirts of Amsterdam on Friday (November 6), escalating European demonstrations targeting large-scale technology infrastructure. The latest ‘attack’ takes place just months after activists targeted the same location with acid-filled balloons. Riot police have been deployed which made multiple arrests. The breach occurred near Sloterdijk in Amsterdam’s western port area, where work is underway on a major three-building complex intended for Microsoft.As per a Reuters witness, approximately 100 people breached the site’s boundaries. However, a spokesperson for activist campaign group Geef Tegengas told local broadcaster AT5 that around 500 demonstrators entered the grounds, with hundreds more remaining outside. As per local news portal AN5, several protesters entered the facility by cutting or breaking through perimeter fences, while others scaled an on-site construction crane.Dutch news agency ANP reported that police had initially blocked the demonstration march earlier in the morning. After the city’s mayor issued an order banning the gathering, marchers attempted to push through established police lines before heading toward the building grounds.
Why people are protesting against Microsoft data centre
Geef Tegengas, an advocacy group that campaigns against fossil fuels, is demanding an immediate and permanent halt to the development due to straining power grids. The group claims the completed data centre will consume an amount of electricity equivalent to every household in Amsterdam combined, warning that the power drawn by the facility will derail the construction of 30,000 planned local homes.The development consists of three separate towers, each reaching a height of 85 metres, all of which will be leased entirely by Microsoft. Initial plans were submitted back in 2016, preceding a municipal ban enacted by Amsterdam on new data centre builds inside the city.Microsoft data centre is repeatedly being targeted in coordinated European actionThe November 6th’s security breach follows previous hostile actions directed at the exact same location. In July, members of Extinction Rebellion targeted the perimeter, throwing balloons loaded with paint and an acidic mixture over the security fences.Interestingly, Friday’s demonstration was organised as part of a coordinated, two-day wave of protest actions scheduled across multiple European nations on November 6 and November 7.The organisers of the demonstration claimed that they are not satisfied with the police’s actions. “They behaved disgracefully. There is a right to demonstrate in this country, and that is being completely disregarded; even the march to the data center was not facilitated.”