Key facts
- Geef Tegengas activists broke into the Westpoort Amsterdam site, climbed a crane, lit flares and hung banners.
- Police told NOS they could not prevent the occupation and that an officer was slightly injured.
- Protesters said police used force and teargas; organisers and local media reported hundreds on each side of the fence.
- Stop Dirty Data Centres said it did not coordinate or promote the Dutch direct action.
- Microsoft said its first concern was the wellbeing of everyone at and around the site.
- Pure Data Centres, the site owner, said entering a live construction site was unlawful and dangerous.
Activists from Geef Tegengas, a Dutch direct action group, broke into the construction site of a Microsoft datacentre at Westpoort Amsterdam on November 6, 2026, clashing with police. Some members climbed a crane, lit flares and tied helium balloons to equipment, and banners were hung objecting to Microsoft's services to the Israeli military and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Police said in a statement to Dutch broadcaster NOS that they attempted to prevent the occupation and arrest protesters but were unable to stop it, and that force was used. An officer was slightly injured, police said. Protesters from both groups said police used force and teargas to disperse activists trying to enter the site. Organisers and local media reported hundreds of protesters on each side of the fence.
The break-in was separate from the pan-European Stop Dirty Data Centres campaign, which targeted the same site but whose affiliated members stayed outside the perimeter fence. Stop Dirty Data Centres, a coalition that includes national branches of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, said it had not coordinated or promoted the direct action, but that it was understandable communities would turn to a range of tactics when unable to participate in decision-making.
Smaller protests took place in Bristol in the UK, at a datacentre in Berlin, outside the Polish parliament in Warsaw and in the main square in Zagreb, Croatia. Further protests are expected on Saturday.
A Microsoft spokesperson said the company was aware of the demonstration and that its first concern was the wellbeing of everyone at and around the site. "We understand that people feel strongly about the project, and we respect their right to express those views peacefully," the spokesperson said. "However, we do not condone any actions that are unlawful or that put people's safety at risk."
A spokesperson for Pure Data Centres, the site owner, said it respected the right to peaceful protest but that entering a live construction site was unlawful and dangerous. "Our immediate priority is everyone's safety, and we respectfully ask those on site to leave safely and engage with us in dialogue about the development and any concerns they may have," the spokesperson said.
Roos Molenaar, an activist from Geef Tegengas, said the struggle against big tech was inseparable from the fight against oppression and fascism. "We won't accept Amsterdam being used for the creation of AI slop and the facilitation of genocide," Molenaar said. "This datacenter is gulping up our drinking water to make the rich even richer."