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Tom’s Hardware
Tom’s Hardware
Technology
Ben Stockton

AI data center bans surge past 500 nationwide as local US politicians begin blocking new developments — growing public outrage and bipartisan pushback threaten big tech expansion plans

A data center under construction.

The number of local bans on new data center developments jumped to over 500 in July, according to recent data. Local politicians in the United States are refusing to approve new data center construction in greater numbers, posing a threat to the expansion required by AI firms to provide the capacity needed to power the new technology. The analysis, conducted by The Information from legal documents and local news reports, shows that this isn’t a partisan issue.

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