The map of America's data center revolt
Many Americans are resisting data centers across the country. Now, some lawmakers are responding with temporary moratoriums and outright bans.
Residents call for a moratorium on data center construction at a planning meeting in upstate New York.Albany Times Union/Hearst Newspapers/Albany Times Union via Getty ImagesMany Americans are resisting the construction of massive AI data centers in their communities.Some local and state governments are issuing moratoriums on data center development.
Others have banned data center construction altogether.Americans across the country are rallying against the AI-inspired data center boom. Now, an increasing number of local lawmakers are backing them up, issuing restrictions, imposing moratoriums, or outright banning construction.
Data centers have become a major source of contention in the United States, where tech leaders, developers, and investors are pumping billions of dollars into the large-scale construction projects. The facilities house the servers powering the AI products sold by Big Tech companies and leading AI startups like Anthropic and OpenAI.Although data centers in America aren't new, the AI revolution is fueling ever-increasing demand and requiring facilities that dwarf those of the past.
A Business Insider investigation published last week found 1,416 data centers already built or approved for construction across 45 states and Washington, DC, in 2025. The White House has supported this push for more data centers. In 2025, the Trump administration accelerated federal permitting for their construction and directed the US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to provide financial support for certain projects.
The administration also backed the Stargate project, a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank that seeks to build out AI infrastructure.Supporters say the data centers will create new jobs and strengthen the economy, and are necessary if the United States wants to compete with China to lead the world in AI. Critics, however, are more worried about how they will affect the largely rural communities where they are being built.
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