Across the nation, from cities like Minneapolis and Tuscon to small towns like Peculiar, Missouri , people have made it clear that they don’t want data centers in their communities, often citing environmental impacts. What we don’t often hear about is how data center projects can erode our core civil rights and civil liberties.

Hyperscale data centers are the physical foundation of the digital world and artificial intelligence. They can extend for miles, housing thousands of networked servers that consume massive amounts of electricity and fresh water. As the race to build up AI infrastructure accelerates, so does the risk of severe environmental, economic, and other harms to Indigenous communities and communities of color. Tech companies routinely use secret non-disclosure agreements and backroom municipal deals to force these facilities into communities without their consent, undermining democratic accountability.…