The fight against AI data centers is just beginning

Summary

Community pushback from across the US and beyond is making some companies reconsider their data center buildout plans. OPT (work permit after graduation) in for The Stepback here . With the approval from the local government and plans to give back to the community, Apple likely didn’t anticipate the lengthy battle it was about to face. In 2017, the Irish High Court ruled in favor of Apple, but the pair of activists behind the appeal wanted to bring the decision before Ireland’s Supreme Court — and that was finally enough for Apple to call it quits. From January to March alone, protesters have blocked or delayed at least 75 projects in the US valued at $130 billion, according to a study from Data Center Watch , a research project backed by the AI security company 10a Labs. “The number of active opposition groups more than doubled from 396 at the end of 2025 to 833 by the end of Q1 2026, now spanning 49 states,” the study says. “Over 235,000 petition signatures were collected in this quarter alone.” In January, the Blackstone-owned data center company QTS dropped plans to build a $12 billion campus in DeForest, Wisconsin, following protests from community members. As protests in communities across the US and beyond play out, a political battle is breaking out in Congress. Data centers are a key part of President Donald Trump’s plan to win the AI race against China, which is why he signed an executive order last year to fast-track the construction of the sprawling facilities. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced a bill that would pause the construction of new AI data centers until Congress passes laws that would prevent the facilities from raising utility prices or harming the environment. Tech Policy Press reports that both Democrat- and Republican-led states have enacted 28 laws related to AI data centers, including Florida, which introduced rules to prevent data centers from passing on costs to residents. The current patchwork of local laws isn’t enough to rein in the buildout, and the federal-level bills still have to make their way through Congress, leaving many communities to fend for themselves.