Brazil's Federal Prosecution Office (MPF) and the Federal Public Defender's Office (DPU) have filed a public civil action demanding that the Anacé indigenous people be consulted before the Pecém Data Center, known as the TikTok data center, starts operating in Caucaia, in the metropolitan area of Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará. According to G1, the agencies argue the project cannot begin operations without prior consultation, an environmental impact study and report (EIA/Rima) and impact monitoring measures.
The agencies cite effects on water and energy use and on noise levels. "In the region, surrounding communities depend on wells for their water supply," they said in a joint statement. Besides free, prior and informed consultation as required by ILO Convention 169, the lawsuit asks for pumping tests, validation of the hydrogeological model, an integrated water and energy impact program and regular disclosure of power, water and noise indicators, as reported by Mobile Time. The same demands were recommended in May to Omnia WN Holding, the company building the site, through Semace, Ceará's environmental agency. Because the responses "did not demonstrate full compliance with the points considered central," the agencies took the case to court. The action also asks Semace not to issue the operating license and, if it does, for the facility to be suspended until a final ruling. The state of Ceará and the Caucaia city government are also defendants.
"The project is close to the area that partially overlaps the Anacé Indigenous Territory, which is under study by Funai, Brazil's indigenous affairs agency. For the DPU, informational meetings do not replace free, prior and informed consultation," the agencies said.
Seventy hectares, two kilometers from the lagoon
The project covers 70 hectares (173 acres) in the Pecém Industrial and Port Complex, inside a federal export processing zone on the border between São Gonçalo do Amarante and Caucaia. It sits about two kilometers from the environmental protection area around the Cauípe coastal lagoon, where the Anacé live. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew presented the project to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in September 2025. G1 puts the investment above 580 billion reais and the initial capacity at 200 MW, which would make it Brazil's largest single-client data center and the first aimed at exports, processing data of users in other countries. Mobile Time adds that planned installed capacity is 300 MW, with 120 diesel generators, an electrical substation and groundwater extraction for cooling.
Mobile Time reports the region has a history of drought, and civil society groups including the Rights on the Net Coalition (Coalizão Direitos na Rede) and the consumer institute Idec had already warned about pressure on the wells supplying communities near the lagoon.
The responses
In a statement, Omnia said it "holds all valid environmental licenses and authorizations" and maintains "broad dialogue" with local communities, adding that it has not yet been formally summoned in the case. The Ceará state attorney general's office said the project "has been conducted in accordance with applicable legislation" and will present its defense in court. TikTok did not respond to Mobile Time's request for comment.
The case reaches the courts amid a global race to build data centers for artificial intelligence, which raises demand for water and energy in places where those resources are already contested. At the Cauípe lagoon, the groundwater meant to cool servers serving users abroad is the same water that feeds the wells of surrounding communities. The outcome will show how the prior consultation required by ILO Convention 169 applies to this new wave of digital expansion in Brazil.