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Data Center Moratorium

Elected Officials Face Reckoning Over Their Collusion With Big AI

September 15, 2026 Stephanie Jordan and Mary Armas, In These Times. , , ,
A majority of Americans want to put a stop to the profit-driven artificial intelligence (AI) agenda being pushed onto all of us by a handful of powerful tech corporations. Across the country, people are building a movement to protect our water, our air, our children, our schools and our jobs from Big Tech. We are not afraid of AI or technology, we’re just not buying the version of AI these corporations are peddling.  We come to this fight from different places and perspectives. Stephanie is fighting against the construction of a nuclear weapons data center in Michigan that will reshape her community.

The Fight Against Google’s Minnesota Data Centers

August 15, 2026 L. Cam Anderson, Unicorn Riot. , , , ,
Mankato, MN — Minnesotans gathered on July 25 in the basement of Mankato’s Grace Lutheran Church for a panel on the hyperscale data centers seemingly popping up across the North Star State. Roughly 80 attendees from the Mankato area and further filled the underground room, frequently adjusting themselves on metal folding chairs throughout the three hour event as the whirring air conditioner kept the space nearly refrigerated. Aubree Derkson of Pine Island, who has been heavily involved in the fight against the planned Google data center in her small, rural community of roughly 3,000, was the event’s first speaker.

As Data Centers Sidestep Tribal Consultations, Nations Fight Back

July 24, 2026 Petala Ironcloud, Truthout. , , , ,
When Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a one-year pause on data center construction on July 14, making New York the first state to pump the brakes on the AI infrastructure boom, tribal nations had already enacted their own moratoriums for months without waiting for a governor’s signature. The Seminole Nation passed its own moratorium in Oklahoma in March. The Tonawanda Seneca Nation sued over a facility in Genesee County, New York, that abuts reservation territory in 2025. In Oklahoma, Cherokee citizen and Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt — who has spent years in federal court fighting tribal sovereignty — has shown no sign of following Hochul’s lead, leaving the Seminole Nation’s moratorium an island of tribal governance in a state whose governor treats Indigenous authority as a threat.

New York Is Blocking New Data Center Construction

July 19, 2026 Eliana Perozo, Next City. , , , ,
With data centers popping up faster than most people can count, it’s hard to keep track of them. But a recent report from the Pew Research Center shows more than a third of Americans (38%) live within five miles of at least one operational data center. Historically, data centers have been built in more urban areas, but with the popularization of AI, sources show developers are shifting toward building in more rural communities. According to the Pew Research Center, newer data centers are expected to be predominantly built in rural areas. Places that face water droughts and low water supplies could face the most exponential impact as community members suffer from the high demands of water.

The Data Center Backlash That’s Uniting America

June 17, 2026 Nick Engelfried, Waging Nonviolence. , , ,
The New York State Assembly made history this month by passing what could become the country’s first statewide moratorium on large new data centers. To activists all over the U.S. who are fighting these facilities and their massive social and environmental impact, the development seems like a turning point.  “In almost all 50 states, there’s immense grassroots pressure to institute moratoriums on data centers and halt the spread of this industry,” said Seth Gladstone of Food and Water Watch, which supported the New York bill. “There’s a feeling the boom in data center construction has come about so quickly, the only adequate response is to press the pause button.”

Wisconsin City Passes Nation’s First Anti-Data Center Referendum

April 10, 2026 Tyler Katzenberger, Portside. , , , ,
A small Wisconsin city home to a data center project backed by President Donald Trump voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to restrict future data centers, in a first-of-its-kind referendum that backers said could offer a blueprint for AI infrastructure opponents around the country. Voters in the Milwaukee suburb of Port Washington approved the measure by a roughly 2-to-1 margin, according to unofficial results. City residents who sponsored the voter initiative said it marks an escalation of tactics to oppose the massive facilities needed to power artificial intelligence and could inspire activists in other towns to follow suit.
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