Across the United States, home to 37 per cent of the world’s 10,800 or so data centres, 2026 has been awash with protests against this infrastructure buildout. According to Data Centre Watch, 75 US data centre projects worth US$130 billion have been blocked or delayed. It seems data centres have become the new “not in my backyard” flashpoint, with calls for a convergence of protests around August 1, the National Day of Action against Data Centres. There doesn’t appear to be comparable controversy over data centres as they proliferate across China and in digital hubs such as Hong Kong and Singapore. First and foremost is the concentration of data centre construction in a small number of hubs.