The Instagram page of ‘Stop Vizag Data Centers’, a citizen-led campaign opposing proposed hyperscale AI data centre projects in and around Visakhapatnam, has been restricted in India.

According to the campaign group, Meta informed them on September 19 that access to the account had been restricted pursuant to legal requirements under India’s Information Technology Rules. The group said the account had previously faced restrictions on nine posts related to its criticism of data centre projects in Andhra Pradesh. 

The campaign has raised concerns about the proposed data centres, particularly regarding land use, water requirements, energy consumption and potential ecological impacts. It has also questioned aspects of transparency and public participation surrounding the projects.

 

Before the account-level restriction, the campaign page had more than 11,800 followers and had generated over 56 lakh views on its content, according to The News Minute.

The News Minute also reported that similar content from the Human Rights Forum and the Environmental Reporting Collective had previously faced restrictions on social media platforms. The Human Rights Forum had also said it was informed of a request from Andhra Pradesh police concerning one of its posts on X. 

 

The restriction has added to an ongoing debate around online content concerning the proposed data centre projects in the Visakhapatnam region, with campaigners continuing to raise questions about their environmental and social implications.