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Microsoft Data Centre Construction Site Occupied by Protestors in Netherland
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Several hundred activists occupied a Microsoft data-centre construction site in Amsterdam’s Sloterdijk district on Friday, and Dutch police said they detained 150 to 200 people on suspicion of trespassing. The action opened two days of rallies by the Stop Dirty Data Centres coalition across 16 countries.
The protests continued on Saturday. Demonstrators gathered outside a Microsoft data centre in Lille Skensved, near Køge in Denmark, with similar events held in Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Finland. The coalition says it is not opposed to technological progress or calling for existing facilities to close. It wants major construction paused until governments set clearer rules. Microsoft said it respects the right to peaceful protest but does not support unlawful action or anything that endangers safety.
Opposition is already changing outcomes. A Finnish project faces a criminal probe over land clearance, Italy and Portugal are tightening environmental rules for data centres, and Microsoft has pulled out of a UK project hit by infrastructure delays.