Data center rules on the agenda in Texas
Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa delivered a blunt message to AI companies in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper. She said data centers have moved into mostly rural communities where no rules or laws exist to protect residents, adding that "Texans are being taken advantage of."
Moratorium and community consent
Hinojosa said the state should stop what it is doing with data centers until protections are in place. She campaigned on a temporary data center moratorium and argued that communities must have a seat at the table to decide if and how data centers come into their areas.
Public support
According to a CNN poll cited in the report, 75% of respondents in Texas opposed building data centers near where they lived. Hinojosa said she does not hate data centers but hates the way they are taking advantage of Texas.
Uncertainty for companies
The exact shape of Hinojosa's approach is not yet clear. But growing data center opposition across the US, reflected in midterm election results, could complicate infrastructure plans for major AI firms. TechRadar noted that Anthropic warned in its IPO filings that its data center supply chain is highly complex and that delays or failures could significantly impact the company.
