Paris Marx’s new book couldn’t have landed at a better time. The longtime critic of Big Tech and host of the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast has been thinking about data centers for years, and Hyperscale: The Ambition and Excess of Big Tech's Data Empires comes out right as opposition hits a fever pitch.

“I certainly didn't predict that it was all going to kind of come to a head as my book was coming out,” he says with a laugh.

While data centers are playing a role in shaping US elections—they’re one of the issues that could decide key midterm races in less than two weeks—there’s a history of struggle around the world.…