AI data centres plan causes uproar across Scotland

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  • Post last modified:11 June 2026
AI data centres plan causes uproar across Scotland

Scotland looks set for an AI data centre crisis after plans were revealed detailing a massive number of data centres planned for construction on Scotland’s Central Belt. ARPS, Scotland’s countryside charity, published an interactive map illustrating where the data centres are earmarked for. The charity compiled the data over growing concerns about the impact of the data units on electricity prices, communities and the environment. So far, at least 18 such data warehouse projects are seeking planning permission, the National reported, with a  further six in the pipeline. ARPS is calling for the ­Scottish government to implement a moratorium on these centres…

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Stormont Justice Bill permits the state to keep your data for a lifetime

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  • Post last modified:9 June 2026
Stormont Justice Bill permits the state to keep your data for a lifetime

The Justice Bill currently passing through the Northern Ireland Assembly will allow the police to retain a person’s biometric data for a massive 75 years. This is despite the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) previously ruling that indefinite holding of such information is a violation of privacy. 75 years may not be indefinite, but it’s essentially a lifetime, meaning the difference is largely moot. More worryingly, the bill allows the state to keep information such as fingerprints and DNA for most of a century in cases of “terrorism-related” offences. This could include cases of inviting “support for a proscribed organisation”.…

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Palantir deal could hand your personal data to Trump administration

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  • Post last modified:9 June 2026
Palantir deal could hand your personal data to Trump administration

A scandalous deal between hard-right AI war firm Palantir and the UK’s financial authority could hand the Trump administration your personal data. Meanwhile, campaigners and MPs say that the deal with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) must prove that sensitive information will not fall into Trump’s hands. On 1 June, the Guardian reported: A US law that can oblige tech companies to disclose information to American authorities may apply to Palantir’s deal to help the Financial Conduct Authority detect crime. House of Commons science and technology select committee Martin Wrigley MP delivered the warning. He was quoted by the Guardian saying that…

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Ireland’s explosive data centre growth triggers shocking rise in electricity bills

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  • Post last modified:8 June 2026
Ireland’s explosive data centre growth triggers shocking rise in electricity bills

A new report has revealed the whopping tax levied on households in Ireland due to runaway data centre expansion — a massive €715 million extra on electricity bills from 2015-2023. Not only that, the document published by Friends of the Earth Ireland (FOTEI) projects that between 2025-2034, bill payers are: …set to face an additional €1.43 billion in electricity bills linked to data centre growth. It also highlights how those least able to pay are hit, stating that: …the poorest households in Ireland paid an extra €209 on electricity bills between 2021 and 2023 due to data centre growth. The cost…

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