NIMBYism has now become networked.
It only seems fair that you should be locked out of any apps, platforms, etc. that directly or indirectly rely on their function.
Ironically everyone loves data centers, as long as their function is sufficiently obscured and they are located "somewhere else". This movement thrives on the extremely low intelligence of its constituents, who don't seem to understand how the Internet and its applications they use, work.
Local politicians and commissioners also seem to be poorly suited to understanding the impact of data centers on their surrounding environs, being lured (as usual) by overly optimistic estimates of jobs and revenues.
> which has devolved into a non-specific cause-of-the-day for stay-at-home moms to complain about
This is a deeply uncharitable interpretation of people speaking up when there isn't anyone else speaking up for them.
Does the author not understand what a tax break is? Tax payers are not giving billions of dollars to the company building a data center.