The LVV ordered the subsidiary to stop removing trees and topsoil, and to cease excavation, quarrying, crushing, soil mass transfers, ditching, and road and storage construction. "In our opinion, the measures in question will change the environment and cause impacts, the identification and assessment of which are among the key objectives of the EIA procedure," said LVV environmental department head Tommi Muilu. The company may still carry out low-impact activities such as planning, measurement and soil surveys.

A Google spokesperson told CNBC: "We understand the concerns and have fallen short of our own high standards in this instance." The company said it acted in good faith under the Forestry Act, ran nature surveys and put protective measures in place, and is advancing landscaping and biodiversity plans including tree planting across 130 hectares at Muhos.

Unlike the power-supply bottlenecks holding up other European data centre projects, this dispute is about land use. Finland is sometimes called the "Texas of Europe" for data centres thanks to its readily available land and electricity, and the stop-work order shows that even those advantages come with environmental review strings attached.