US data center protests follow years of protests in other countries

Paris Marx, a critic of large technology companies, tells that US protests against data centers are at a high point. The new book Hyperscale comes out as data centers are an issue in US midterm races in less than 2 weeks. Marx tells that Google used 29 percent of the water in one Oregon community and tried to keep the value from the public.

What the book includes

The book goes from protests against American computers in the Vietnam War to protests in Ireland and Chile. It also tells of a different model for data centers in New Zealand.

The evidence

Marx tells that the Netherlands and Singapore had moratoriums from 2019. By 2022, Ireland saw data centers use large quantities of electricity. In Oregon, Marx tells that Google got the city council to try to keep its water values from the public for most of a year.

What is not known

This is the view of a known critic. The text gives no number for how the vote will go. The interview also includes the fall of the AI bubble, but the text gives no result.

Insight: Local protests and US need pull on the same sites

Marx tells of local protests about electricity and water. In October 2026, US lawmaker Jim Himes told that AI data centers will become critical infrastructure. Marx tells that important functions must have a copy in many areas. This reads as a standoff: communities can slow new sites, and US leaders want more of them. If you add a site, add more time.