The Helsinki march set off from Rautatientori on Saturday 7 November and passed Google’s office on Arkadiankatu on its way to Parliament House, Helsingin Sanomat and STT reported. Police estimated the crowd at about 1,300 at its peak. Organisers put it at about 1,500.

The organisers included Elokapina, Metsäliike and Maan ystävät. They are concerned about how data centres affect nature and the supply and price of electricity. As well as a freeze on projects, they want data centre construction coordinated nationally and the total number of centres capped. The organisers believe new projects are being announced in quick succession while the state and municipalities have not developed regulation at the same pace, STT reported.

Demonstrations were also held in Tampere, Oulu, Jyväskylä and Turku. Sommer Ackerman, coordinator of Luonto-Liitto’s youth policy group, told HS that about 500 people took part in Tampere and more than 100 in each of the other cities.

About 200 arrested in Amsterdam

On Friday, protesters in Amsterdam broke into a site where Microsoft is building a data centre. Some climbed a crane and lit flares, AP reported in a story published by CNA. Police said they had arrested 150–200 people for trespassing, dpa reported in a story published by heise online. Xinhua, citing broadcaster NOS, reported more than 200 arrests and said all had been released by Saturday afternoon.

NOS reported that two groups were present. The climate movement Fossielvrij NL planned to demonstrate outside the site, but activists from the Geef Tegengas group tried to break through the fences with tools. Police said some of those arrested had items suspected of being stolen from the site, and some are suspected of criminal damage. Geef Tegengas described the occupation as Europe’s first mass protest against large data centres.

Microsoft said it respected people’s right to express their views peacefully but did not condone unlawful acts or putting people’s safety at risk.

Protests also in Warsaw and Dublin

Sources differ on the size of the campaign. HS reported more than 100 organisations from 15 countries, while AP said the organisers spoke of dozens of groups. In Warsaw, protesters gathered outside parliament, Xinhua reported. Citing The Irish Times, Xinhua also reported that hundreds of people in Dublin joined Ireland’s first national protest against data centres. Figures from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office, quoted by Xinhua, show that data centres accounted for 5 per cent of the country’s metered electricity consumption in 2015 and 23 per cent in 2025.

The European Commission has proposed a Cloud and AI Development Act that aims to at least triple EU data centre capacity within five to seven years, Xinhua reported. In comments to Xinhua, Nenad Stekic, an assistant professor at the University of Belgrade, predicted that building permits would face closer scrutiny and construction would slow in some places. Construction would not stop altogether, however, Stekic said.