OLD CITY (KYW Newsradio) — Around two dozen protestors rallied outside the Old City of U.S. Senator John Fetterman on Thursday, demanding he take a stronger stance against big tech — namely data centers and surveillance technology.
Teo Reyes with Make the Road Pennsylvania said data centers need to be reigned in nationwide.
“We want to see politicians halt the construction of new data centers and pause the handouts that are being given — the tax handouts — that were given to those corporations and those data centers, which no one wants,” said Reyes.
Shawmar Pitts, with environmental nonprofit Philly Thrive, said data centers wreak havoc on working class communities as they guzzle up massive amounts of energy and water.
“All of those things have a negative impact on the environment and, not just on the environment, on our pockets,” he said.
Fetterman has been outspoken against a moratorium on data centers, calling the idea “China-first.”
But Reyes said without strict regulations, data centers only harm communities.
“It’s raising everybody’s utility bills because of the excess use of electricity. And that cost is not being borne by the data centers, it’s being borne by us,” he said
Protestors vowed to vote Fetterman out of office if he doesn’t change his stance. Fetterman will be up for re-election in 2028.
