60% of Americans Favor Limits on New Data Centers

In Q2 2026, data center projects valued at $68 billion were disrupted, highlighting growing public opposition. A report from Data & Society, which involved ethnographic fieldwork over 18 months and interviews with 44 Pennsylvanians, reveals that 60% of Americans support imposing limits on new data centers.

Livia Garofalo, a researcher at Data & Society, emphasized the importance of ethnographic research in understanding local sentiments, stating, "One of the strengths of ethnography and doing research on the ground for an extended period of time is piercing the bubble of AI hype."

The report also notes that communities, particularly in Pennsylvania, have a historical awareness of industrial change, with Maia Woluchem, program director at Data & Society, commenting on the local experience of industrial trauma. She stated, "People in Pennsylvania especially have incredible experience with industrial change, have deep lineages of industrial trauma, enough to sniff when things don’t feel right to them."

The Data Center Coalition, which spent $19,000 on lobbying the Pennsylvania state government last year, supports the expansion of data centers despite public pushback. This follows a July 2025 summit where Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro celebrated a $90 billion investment in data center and AI infrastructure. The ongoing disruptions and community concerns may lead to more stringent regulations affecting future data center developments.