Amazon Drops NDAs for Data Centre Projects Amid Growing Backlash

Amazon says it has stopped using nondisclosure agreements with government agencies as it seeks approvals for new data centre projects, a policy change the company is presenting as part of a broader effort to ease concerns from communities pushing back against data centre expansion.

Wired first highlighted the change after AWS CEO Matt Garman said in a longer company statement that Amazon no longer uses NDAs in its dealings with government agencies on these projects. In that Amazon blog post, Garman argued that data centres are being misunderstood and said growing opposition could slow U.S. competitiveness in AI infrastructure.

Amazon is responding to a wider data centre backlash

The NDA issue has become a flashpoint in disputes over large data centre developments, with critics arguing that communities are too often informed only after major decisions have already been made. That wider backlash has helped drive calls for moratoriums and stricter permitting rules in parts of the United States, even as Amazon argues that local resistance increasingly stems from misconceptions about how data centres operate.

Garman’s post focused on four issues he said are commonly misunderstood: water use, electricity costs, pollution and local benefits. He also said Amazon has contributed more than $1 billion to U.S. communities where it has a meaningful data centre presence over the past three years and framed the end of NDAs as part of a more open approach.

Amazon defends its record on water, power and pollution

On water use, Garman pointed to Amazon’s own reporting, which says direct data centre water consumption accounts for 0.5% of industrial water use in the United States. But that does not settle the wider debate. NPR has reported that scientists want independent study of data centres’ water and energy demands, partly because no consistent federal or state disclosure requirements cover the broader footprint of AI infrastructure.

Garman also argued that data centres are not the main reason electricity prices rise, saying cost increases often reflect ageing grid infrastructure that was not expanded before demand grew. On pollution, he said critics often focus on maximum permitted emissions rather than actual operations, adding that backup generators are idle most of the time and typically run only for maintenance testing.

The bigger challenge may be trust

Even with the NDA change, Amazon still faces a broader credibility problem. Opposition to data centres increasingly reflects distrust of both government approvals and company claims about environmental and community impact. That trust gap may prove harder to address than any single policy announcement.

That point has been echoed outside Amazon. In a New York Times opinion discussion featuring Jasmine Sun, data centre opponents were described as often unconvinced by the industry’s case even when companies present their arguments directly. Amazon’s decision to stop using NDAs may address one complaint about secrecy. Still, it is unlikely, on its own, to end suspicion about how data centres are planned, approved, and operated.