Protesters break into Microsoft data center site in Amsterdam as Europe's backlash spreads

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Protesters broke into a construction site for a new Microsoft data center in Amsterdam on Friday, with some climbing a crane and setting off flares while others clashed with police. Nathan Timmer of the protest group Geef Tegengas, a phrase that translates as Push Back, told local broadcaster AT5 that protesters were occupying the site in an effort to stop construction. Campaigners against data centers in Europe are expected to stage protests and other actions in several countries on Friday and Saturday, demanding a moratorium on large-scale developments to address social and environmental concerns around the energy-hungry behemoths. “We don’t want it to be built. Nobody needs it,” Timmer said. “The only thing this will be used for is AI slop. AI warfare, data surveillance, and committing genocides. We don’t want that,” he added, vowing to continue protesting until construction is halted. Pro-Palestinian activists also joined the demonstrations in the Dutch capital. By late afternoon police were escorting activists off the construction site, though