Government agencies will no longer need to sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) with Amazon Web Services (AWS) during the vetting and approval phase for new data centers, as AWS responds to heightened criticism and growing regulatory attention in the United States.
AWS CEO Matt Garman confirmed this policy shift in a recent blog post, responding to calls for more openness surrounding data center developments. This development follows rising opposition at both local and national levels, with communities voicing worries about environmental impact, transparency, and how much companies engage with residents as they pursue major data center projects.
Regulatory Pushback and Public Resistance
NDAs have become a flashpoint in debates about the openness of data center projects, with local governments frequently criticized for agreeing to secrecy. Erin Brockovich, a well-known environmental activist, has pointed out that lack of transparency is the issue she most often hears about data centers, specifically referencing deals signed out of public view and announcements arriving only after permitting decisions have been made. Many believe that this secrecy erodes trust and shuts communities out of the planning process.
Garman noted that there are more than 100 local moratoriums on data centers currently being debated or advanced across the country. Recently, New York State enacted a one-year halt on granting permits for large-scale data centers, signaling mounting anxiety over the facilities’ local and environmental consequences.
Dispelling Myths Around Data Centers
Garman also sought to counter what he termed four prevalent myths surrounding data centers—namely, worries over high water usage, increased local energy bills, pollution, and insufficient community benefits. Citing an internal Amazon study, he emphasized that direct water use at data centers accounts for only 0.5% of total U.S. industrial water consumption, significantly less than that of industries such as golf courses or almond producers.
Meanwhile, Nvidia has promoted innovations in cooling systems that reportedly reduce nearly all internal water use by data centers. Nonetheless, experts caution that these claims oversimplify the issue, since the indirect water footprint, such as that related to electricity production and chip manufacturing, is often left unaddressed. Furthermore, there are currently no federal or state laws compelling tech firms to disclose or assess their complete water and energy consumption for such operations.
Regarding electricity prices, Garman explained that increases in some data center-hosting regions have coincided with stable or falling rates elsewhere, suggesting that aging power grids—not solely data center growth—are the main cost driver. However, an independent watchdog has linked data centers to a 76% year-over-year increase in rates on the nation’s largest electrical network, as reported here.
Scrutiny over pollution from these facilities is also rising. For instance, a planned AWS data center in Texas has been permitted to release up to 33 million tons of CO₂ annually, a volume surpassing any single U.S. power plant currently in operation. Garman responded by stating that, based on AWS statistics, these emissions largely stem from backup generators—equipment that, on average, is only run about 10 hours per year or remains 99.9% idle most of the time.
Community Impact and Ongoing Skepticism
Alongside the end of NDAs with government bodies, Garman highlighted that in the last three years, Amazon has invested more than $1 billion in the local communities where its data centers are sited, underscoring the company’s desire to foster regional value and support.
Yet these community contributions have not dispelled all doubts. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently characterized resistance to data and AI infrastructure as “fundamentally a crisis of trust,” alleging that communities suspect hidden motives on the part of both government and technology companies. Jasmine Sun, a writer, has observed that efforts by companies to counter public opposition with data or explanations are often not enough to change skeptical minds.
With AWS trying to gain approval for additional facilities and address resident concerns, its move to drop NDAs with public agencies represents a meaningful shift in policy. Whether such measures will resolve community misgivings and encourage wider acceptance of data centers around the U.S. is still unclear.