Seattle enacts year-long ban on new AI datacenters

Home city of Amazon and Microsoft passes moratorium as backlash against energy-guzzling AI infrastructure grows

Seattle has passed a year-long moratorium on the construction of new datacenters. The city council voted unanimously in favor of the temporary ban on Tuesday.

A major tech hub whose metro area is home to Amazon and Microsoft, Seattle is the largest US city to have passed such a moratorium as the backlash against AI infrastructure grows across the country.