Permits and construction for new digital infrastructure are frozen in hundreds of municipalities across the United States. More than 300 local governments have voted for these temporary legal moratoriums over the last 18 months, with a sharp increase in such actions during the summer of 2026. These pauses block new project approvals but do not impact existing facility operations.

Local officials are drafting specific regulations and assessing infrastructure capacity for projects ranging from 100 megawatt to multiple gigawatt. Because many current zoning laws predate these large scale facilities, the legal pauses serve as a low cost method to address local opposition. These restrictions typically last from several months to one year before they are revoked or replaced by new rules.