Protesters storm Microsoft data centre site in Amsterdam as Europe’s backlash grows

Protesters have stormed a Microsoft data centre construction site in Amsterdam as an anti-data centre movement spreads across Europe.

Protesters broke into a construction site for a new Microsoft data centre in Amsterdam on Friday, with some climbing a crane and setting off flares while others clashed with police, the Associated Press reports.

Dutch police said they detained 150 to 200 people suspected of trespassing. Nathan Timmer of the group Geef Tegengas told broadcaster AT5 the protesters were occupying the site to stop construction. “We don’t want it to be built. Nobody needs it,” he said.

Microsoft said it respects people’s right to protest peacefully but “we do not condone any actions that are unlawful,” a spokesperson said.

Campaigners plan protests in 15 European countries on Friday and Saturday, demanding a moratorium on large-scale data centre developments.

The protests come days after the US midterms ushered in a wave of Democrats promising to clamp down on data centres. In Germany, a dozen protesters gathered outside a data centre near Berlin, and about 100 people protested outside Poland’s parliament.