> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://theainewsfiles.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Protesters break into Microsoft data center construction site in Amsterdam - URL: https://theainewsfiles.com/protesters-break-into-microsoft-data-center-site-amsterdam/ - Published: 2026-11-06T12:53:50.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-06T12:53:50.000Z - Description: Protesters broke into a Microsoft data center construction site in Sloterdijk, Amsterdam, on Friday 6 November 2026. AT5 reported several arrests. - Author: J E Cowie - Tags: News Protesters broke into a Microsoft data center construction site in Amsterdam on Friday 6 November 2026\. The site is in the Sloterdijk area, in Amsterdam's western port area. According to AT5, several arrests were made and riot police were deployed with multiple vans. At the time of AT5's update, hundreds of demonstrators were on the site. ![Map showing where Sloterdijk is](https://theainewsfiles.com/content/images/2026/11/map_sloterdijk.jpg) Sloterdijk, Amsterdam, Netherlands ## What happened at the site NOS reported that dozens of pro-Palestinian activists broke through the fences onto the site, where a Fossielvrij NL protest had been due to start at 12:00\. Reuters, as relayed by The Verge, reported that around 100 people made it into the construction site. The Times of India reported that some demonstrators broke through a fence to gain entry. NOS reported a confrontation between activists and police in the late morning, in which demonstrators were enclosed but could then continue, and that they then climbed into a crane on the site and onto the roof of the data center under construction. The Verge, citing Reuters, reported that some protesters scaled a crane to place a “fuck AI” banner. The Verge also reported that a “Microsoft powers genocide” banner was unfurled on the site and that protesters chanted “Microsoft has got to go” and “free Palestine.” NOS reported that Geef Tegengas activists were already on site before the protest began, carrying banners with text saying Microsoft is genocide, and that one demonstrator said the Israeli army is a customer of Microsoft. NOS reporter Danny Simons saw activists tie balloons to the fences, hang Palestinian flags and jump rope, and said police were present in large numbers, with about thirty police vans. AT5 reported that one demonstrator was affected by pepper spray. Dutch news agency ANP, as reported by the Times of India, said police had initially halted the march and the mayor subsequently banned the demonstration. According to the Times of India, organizers accused police of misconduct, alleging that the right to demonstrate was disregarded. ## Who was there, and what they said The Verge reported that the Geef Tegengas group helped organize the protest. The Times of India describes Geef Tegengas as an activist group campaigning against fossil fuels. Geef Tegengas said the goal of the protest was to stop the data center at all costs, according to AT5\. In a call-out listed on globalinfo.nl, the group invited people to a mass action on 6 November in Amsterdam to stop the Microsoft data center, and gave its slogan as no data center in Amsterdam and no data center anywhere. The same call-out text claimed the data center would use as much electricity as all Amsterdam households, slow the building of 30,000 homes, increase Big Tech's power, facilitate armies expanding digital weapons and surveillance systems, and use blood minerals mined under brutal conditions in the Global South. Those are the group's claims. AT5 reported that Fossielvrij NL stressed it was not a joint protest, though it said it had sympathy for the Geef Tegengas activists. NOS reported that about 100 to 150 Fossielvrij NL demonstrators stood outside the site, protesting data centers because some run on gas. AT5 reported that pro-Palestine demonstrators were also present. In a press release quoted by AT5, the pro-Palestine group stated that Microsoft hosts data of ICE and the IDF and that data centers are used for mass surveillance and violence. The groups gave different reasons for opposing the site, from gas and fossil fuels to Microsoft's customers. Microsoft told NOS it was aware of the demonstration, which NOS described as having got out of hand. According to NOS, the company said it respects the right of people to express their views peacefully but does not approve of actions that break the law or endanger safety. ## The project and the rules around it The facility consists of three buildings, each 85 meters tall. The developer is Pure Data Centres, a British firm, and Microsoft is the sole tenant. Crypto Briefing reported total planned power capacity of 78 MW. Dutch Brief reported in January 2026 that Pure DC is investing over 1 billion euros, that construction began in January 2026 and that the first phase is expected to be operational by 2028. The Verge reports that Amsterdam banned new data centers until 2030, after a temporary stop announced at the end of 2023\. Dutch Brief reports that the Dutch national government banned hyperscale data centres larger than 10 hectares or consuming more than 70 megawatts in 2022\. The project's initial plans date to 2016, before either ban was in place, according to Dutch Brief. Dutch Brief reported that the province of Noord-Holland approved separate permits for each of the three towers rather than treating them as a single facility, and that the province said that, from a legal perspective, the three separate data centres do not meet the criteria for a hyperscale. The Verge says the site has navigated some loopholes to reach the construction stage. ## Grid and housing claims Geef Tegengas's claim about 30,000 homes was also reported by the Times of India. Dutch Brief reported in January that city officials said plans to build 30,000 homes and 50 schools are under threat because there is not enough grid capacity. It also reported that Amsterdam's grid operator Liander warns that shortages will persist until at least 2030. ## Earlier protests and a wider wave Crypto Briefing reported that in June 2026 Geef Tegengas occupied the site, halting work for much of the day. The Times of India reported that in July 2026 Extinction Rebellion activists hurled balloons filled with acid and paint over the perimeter fence. The protest was part of two days of coordinated protests against data centres scheduled across several European countries on 6 and 7 November. It was part of a broader wave of data center protests across Europe. The Verge reported that activists staged a mock Israeli military checkpoint outside a Microsoft data center in Dublin on Tuesday, and that [US voters rejected unrestrained data center](https://theainewsfiles.com/us-midterms-data-centres-exit-poll-ballot-measures/) development earlier in the week. It also reported that Microsoft abandoned the UK's largest data center project the previous month, after local electricity grid officials said the site won't be supplied with power until the 2030s. The Verge also listed earlier protests by Microsoft employees: its 50th anniversary party was interrupted by employees protesting the use of Microsoft's technologies in Israel's war against Hamas, with one calling Mustafa Suleyman a “war profiteer.” It added that an employee disrupted Satya Nadella's keynote at the Build developer conference the previous year, and that Microsoft fired two employee protesters who occupied its president's office. ## Sources AT5 (2026) 'Demonstranten breken door hekken bij protest tegen datacenter, activisten bezetten terrein', AT5, 6 November 2026, available at: [https://www.at5.nl/artikelen/240894/protest-datacenter-amsterdam-politie-treedt-op](https://www.at5.nl/artikelen/240894/protest-datacenter-amsterdam-politie-treedt-op?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 6 November 2026). globalinfo.nl (2026) '6/11 A’dam: actie tegen datacenter van Microsoft', globalinfo.nl, 29 October 2026, available at: [https://www.globalinfo.nl/event/6-11-adam-actie-tegen-datacenter-van-microsoft/](https://www.globalinfo.nl/event/6-11-adam-actie-tegen-datacenter-van-microsoft/?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 6 November 2026). Lopez, D. A. (2026) 'Protesters storm Microsoft data center site in Amsterdam over AI expansion', Crypto Briefing, 6 November 2026, available at: [https://cryptobriefing.com/protesters-storm-microsoft-data-center-amsterdam/](https://cryptobriefing.com/protesters-storm-microsoft-data-center-amsterdam/?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 6 November 2026). Manral, K. (2026) 'Climate activists storm Microsoft data centre site in Amsterdam, several arrested', The Times of India, 6 November 2026, available at: [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/climate-activists-storm-microsoft-data-centre-site-in-amsterdam-several-arrested/articleshow/135604781.cms](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/climate-activists-storm-microsoft-data-centre-site-in-amsterdam-several-arrested/articleshow/135604781.cms?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 6 November 2026). NOS.nl (2026) 'Activisten breken door de hekken van terrein datacenter Microsoft in Amsterdam', NOS.nl, 6 November 2026, available at: [https://nos.nl/artikel/2638275-activisten-breken-door-de-hekken-van-terrein-datacenter-microsoft-in-amsterdam](https://nos.nl/artikel/2638275-activisten-breken-door-de-hekken-van-terrein-datacenter-microsoft-in-amsterdam?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 6 November 2026). Vinogradova, L. (2026) 'Microsoft to Build Massive Data Centre in Amsterdam Despite Bans', Dutch Brief, 27 January 2026, available at: [https://www.dutchbrief.com/p/microsoft-to-build-massive-data-centre-in-amsterdam-despite-bans](https://www.dutchbrief.com/p/microsoft-to-build-massive-data-centre-in-amsterdam-despite-bans?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 6 November 2026). Warren, T. (2026) 'Protesters break into Microsoft data center site in Amsterdam', The Verge, 6 November 2026, available at: [https://www.theverge.com/news/1028549/protesters-microsoft-data-center-site-amsterdam](https://www.theverge.com/news/1028549/protesters-microsoft-data-center-site-amsterdam?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 6 November 2026). ## Picture credits - Top picture: Westpoort Amsterdam Haven - Harbour. Westpoort Amsterdam Harbour, photo by Patricia, via [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54852420&ref=theainewsfiles.com) ([CC BY 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/?ref=theainewsfiles.com)) - Map: drawn from [Natural Earth](https://www.naturalearthdata.com/?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (public domain) and [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3018576?ref=theainewsfiles.com).