Meta President Says Building New US Data Centers Will Become Much Harder

At a glance

Dina Powell McCormick, president of Meta Platforms, expects that building new data centers in the United States will become far more difficult after the US midterm elections. She also said that growing public opposition to data centers, which became a major election issue, played a role. In response, Meta is considering expanding its investments outside the United States.

Key points

1. 1

   Ms. McCormick said that building new data centers will go through more review.

2. 2

   She believes expanding data centers that are already running will be relatively easy.

3. 3

   Governors-elect of Ohio and Texas have demanded that new data center construction be halted on conditions, creating uncertainty for the business.

4. 4

   Meta is weighing a plan to spread its investments to overseas countries where conditions for building data centers are better.

Why it matters

Large data centers are the facilities that support AI (artificial intelligence) services, so more construction regulation could affect the AI industry as well as regional investment and jobs.