US data centre protests go national as backlash grows

Opponents of the rapid buildout of data centres plan to hold protests on July 18 in at least 125 locations across the United States, the first coordinated national effort to channel anger at the AI infrastructure expansion that has ramped up over 2026 and roiled local politics.

The protests are coordinated by a grassroots group called Humans First, co-founded by a former leader of the modern-day Tea Party, who has compared growing opposition to data centres to the right-wing populist movement that emerged in 2009 to protest what it saw as excessive taxation and government overreach.

Protesters will rally against what Humans First calls the “unaccountable” buildout of data centres and “unacceptable infringement on our liberty”.

Towns and counties have been at the forefront of opposition to data centre projects that in some cases have been greenlit with local officials signing non-disclosure agreements with developers despite resident pushback or a lack of regulatory scrutiny.

Now politicians at the state and national level are scrambling to keep pace with rising voter anger over the threat of higher power bills, the diversion of precious water resources and pollution.

Data centre opposition is among the few issues uniting Americans across ideological lines, with just a third of Americans approving of the pace of data centre construction in the US, according to a June Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Only 14 per cent of respondents would support a data centre being built in their community to support artificial intelligence projects for technology firms such as Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Elon Musk’s xAI.

The Data Center Coalition, the industry’s association and lobbying group, did not immediately comment on the protests. It previously told Reuters data centres are committed to being responsible neighbours in the communities where they operate.

Red and blue states represent

Although Humans First co-founder Amy Kremer compared it to the conservative Tea Party movement’s early days in 2009, she said the anger against data centres is non-partisan.

“They just woke up one day and found out they’re going to have this monstrosity in their community, and they don’t want it,” said Kremer, who predicted data centres will be a defining issue in November’s midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race.

Kremer has criticised Republicans for giving Big Tech a “free pass,” but she and some organisers also said they do not support policies like moratoriums on data centre approvals adopted by the Democratic state of New York.

Among other things, organisers said they want the development process to be transparent, resources and environmental health protected, community benefits such as the creation of well-paid union jobs and a way to hold developers accountable if they do not follow through on promises.

Late on July 17, the Republican stronghold of Texas, a hotspot for data centre development, was on track to have the most protests with 16. The battleground state of Georgia had 11, while Democratic California, Republican Florida and the swing state of Pennsylvania came in at seven each.

First-time activist and self-described “political nomad” Eva Cardona, 31, is organising a protest in Texas.

Left-leaning Ivan DelSol, 54, is helping lead a protest in the California desert’s Imperial County, where a proposed data centre project could use 260 million gallons of water per year from the Colorado River.

“It’s dystopian that you would use this much fresh water for AI,” DelSol said.

Although water is frequently cited as a top public concern, especially in water-stressed regions, the data centre industry says its water use is not as significant as other industries. REUTERS