Overview
- On Friday, Nov. 6, hundreds of activists entered the construction site for a Pure Data Centres project in Amsterdam’s Sloterdijk area and temporarily halted work.
- Dutch police detained roughly 150–200 people on trespassing charges and escorted many protesters off the site after demonstrators climbed cranes, cut fences and displayed large anti‑AI and pro‑Palestine banners.
- Organisers including Geef Tegengas and Fossielvrij NL helped coordinate the action as part of a two‑day, Europe‑wide Days of Action by the Stop Dirty Data Centres coalition that staged protests in about 15–16 countries.
- Pure Data Centres and Microsoft condemned unlawful activity but said they will engage with local stakeholders, while activists say the facility’s planned 78 MW power draw and heavy water use threaten local housing, grids and services.
- The breach underlines a wider contest between fast‑tracked plans for AI infrastructure and local authorities, courts and campaigners pushing for moratoriums, tougher permitting conditions and developers to pay for grid upgrades.