Dump Big Tech (August 2026)

"Dump Big Tech" was a coordinated multi-city week-of-action executed across more than 20 states during Congressional August recess in 2026. Organizers — led by the Sunrise Movement and the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), with QuitGPT co-organizing key actions — timed the campaign to reach elected officials in their home districts when Congress was out of session and Big Tech lobbying in Washington had paused. Actions targeted OpenAI, Palantir, and Google offices; constituent visits to members of Congress in New York, New Jersey, California, Nevada, and Pennsylvania; and data center construction sites in Oregon and West Virginia.

Demands

Three shared demands tied the campaign's actions: (1) stricter AI regulation — specifically blocking federal preemption of state AI laws; (2) an end to federal Big Tech partnerships — targeting OpenAI's Pentagon surveillance contract, Palantir's federal data systems, and Google's government AI programs; and (3) energy and water usage caps for data centers, addressing the environmental footprint of accelerating AI infrastructure buildout as a community harm.

DC occupation — August 10, 2026

The campaign's highest-profile action was the occupation of OpenAI's Washington DC lobbying office on 10 August 2026, during which more than 30 student activists held "The Workshop" — OpenAI's offices near the White House — for two hours before police arrested 13 participants for unlawful entry. Banners read "Stop Stealing Our Future" and "OpenAI Bought My Senator." The action directly targeted OpenAI's $140+ million midterm super PAC spending and its campaign to preempt state AI regulation and secure federal legal immunity for AI-caused harms.