- Republicans ask FBI to investigate opposition to data centers
- Group alleges opposition is Chinese influence campaign
- Independent investigations point to environmentalists and Democrats
A group of Republicans has called on FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate anti-data center sentiment, alleging that China is fueling the growing wave of opposition.
The open letter, written by Republican lawmakers on the Energy and Commerce Committee, “writes to express our concerns regarding evidence that strongly suggests foreign influence campaigns targeting the development of artificial intelligence in the US.”
Kentucky Rep. Brett Guthrie, Pennsylvania Rep. John Joyce and Ohio Rep. Bob Latta cited evidence from independent research by Power The Future, an energy advocacy group that pushes for increased use of fossil fuels and opposes pro-environmental groups, and the think tank Bitcoin Policy Institute.
Opposition to data centers driven by China?
Research from the Bitcoin Policy Institute has linked Senator Bernie Sanders’ panel on Capitol Hill on “the existential threat of AI” as a key piece of evidence due to the presence of two Chinese panelists, Zeng Yi, dean of the Beijing Institute for AI Security and Governance, and Xue Lan, a professor at Tsinghua University. The think tank’s research states: “The fact that this panel was even held is revealing in itself.”
Power The Future’s research includes a section on “IDENTICAL FRAMING ACROSS STATES.” The investigation examined materials against movement data centers in Virginia, Wisconsin and Georgia, and alleges that the inclusion of similar phrases about water use, energy limitations, transparency around approval and utility bills uses “language too similar to be coincidental.”
Additionally, the Power The Future report accuses the “environmental left” of “hijacking MAGA” to push for legislation restricting the construction of data centers. The report seeks to frame widespread Republican opposition to data centers as orchestrated by left-wing environmentalists, stating that “the environmental left has proven remarkably adept at embedding its resources in communities that would reject its broader agenda if it appeared using its own name.”
According to Data Center Watch, whose statistics have been cited in Power The Future research, 55% of politicians who have made public statements against data center projects have been Republicans.
The lawmaker’s letter suggests that the entire anti-data center movement is “engaged in a coordinated effort to slow American growth in the development of AI and the construction of infrastructure that supports AI data centers.”
Local opposition at the county, city, town and township levels has blocked data center projects worth more than $64 billion. Numerous moratoriums have now been introduced at the state level on data centers, with New York’s own legislation making the most progress toward implementation.
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