Finland opens criminal investigation into Google forest clearing for datacentre

Finnish authorities are investigating whether Google subsidiary Tuike Finland violated environmental laws by clearing 330 hectares of forest and draining wetlands without completing required environmental impact assessments before beginning

First covered Oct 29, 2026 · 7:51 AM PT · 1 article · no longer in the live window

Finland opens criminal investigation into Google forest clearing for datacentre — Image via theguardian.com

Coverage

12d Guardian Environment Finland launches criminal investigation into Google’s clearing of forest for datacentre site — Authorities allege company may have breached Finnish environmental laws by forgoing required impact assessment ‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google…

More coverage from around the web

datacenterdynamics.com Google's €13bn data center buildout in Finland under investigation for 300-hectare forest removal - DCD

tomshardware.com Google AI data center project investigated after 420 football fields of Finnish forest razed — trees were removed before a mandatory environmental impact assessment, say reports

business-humanrights.org Finland: Google ordered to halt works on two data centres after clearing forests without conducting environmental impact assessments - Business and Human Rights Centre

qz.com Finland ordered Google to halt prep work at 2 data center sites over forest clearing

aljazeera.com Finland orders halt to work on Google data centre sites

Appeared in: 2026-10-29 (#17) · 2026-10-30 (#18)

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