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‘Don’t be evil’ was Google’s motto. Meanwhile in Finland, Google has just behaved like a clichéd villain from some kids movie. To build new data centers at Muhos and Otanmäki, they quickly chopped down nearly 400,000 trees before getting permission, and even stripped away top soil.

One local resident says wolves have been entering the village since losing part of their forest. The government says the law was not followed and the supervisory agency has now ordered a halt to the work while assessments are completed.

Google says it acted in good faith, but has “fallen short of our own high standards in this instance" and will follow the agency's guidance as it continues to invest in Finland.

Let's also hope more European companies invest in the kind of smart, energy-efficient infrastructure needed for European tech sovereignty, including in AI, without driving up bills or pissing off local communities like this.