TikTok Faces Indigenous Pushback Over Brazil Data Center
In Ceará, a planned TikTok data centre has sparked a clash between Brazil’s tech ambitions and indigenous rights.
Cultural preservation is a sensitive matter in many parts of the world, especially where ancestral land and modern industry collide. Clashes over land, resources, and identity often flare up when global tech ambitions land in places with deep cultural roots. And right now, that tension is brewing in Brazil’s northeast.
In the dry, sun-scorched state of Ceará, the Anacé, a Brazilian Indigenous community, is taking on one of the world’s most powerful tech companies, TikTok. In late August, they filed a formal complaint to federal authorities, asking them to stop the construction of a massive data center announced earlier this year. The project, developed in partnership with energy firm Casa dos Ventos, is not just a corporate investment; it ties into Brazil’s wider ambition to become a hub for cloud and AI infrastructure across Latin America.
For the Anacé, the centre raises concerns that go beyond questions of development. It is planned near a river that sustains both their cultural practices and daily needs. Developers say the facility would consume around 30,000 litres of water per day, a figure within normal industry ranges. Yet in Ceará, where droughts have long shaped life and access to water is already a sensitive issue, even that amount sparks unease.
TikTok and its partners maintain that the licensing process has been followed and permits are secured. Authorities, for their part, argue that no consultation was required since the Anacé lack formal land titles. The community disputes this, pointing to international conventions that guarantee Indigenous groups a voice in projects affecting their territories. For them, the oversight feels like a dismissal of rights as much as a threat to resources.
What’s unfolding in Ceará echoes broader patterns seen elsewhere as the global demand for digital infrastructure grows. In Chile, Google paused a project after concerns over water use during a drought. In Arizona, Amazon faced rejection for similar reasons. Meta, too, was forced to shelve plans for a large-scale facility in the Netherlands after public resistance.
Henry Chikwem
Brazil has been actively positioning itself as a data centre powerhouse. With vast land, improving connectivity, and a rapidly expanding digital economy, the country has courted tech giants eager to anchor operations in the region. Ceará, with its access to undersea cables linking Latin America to Africa, Europe, and the US, has been central to this pitch.
That backdrop explains TikTok’s decision to invest in Ceará, but it also underscores the balancing act Brazil faces as it pursues digital growth while navigating the rights and realities of local communities.
