Amazon Drops Secret Data Center NDAs Amid Local Backlash

Amazon says it has stopped using nondisclosure agreements with the government agencies it works with on data center projects, as AWS CEO Matt Garman warns that more than 100 local data center moratoriums are being considered across the United States. According to WIRED, TechCrunch and Ars Technica, the announcement came in a Friday blog post that also promised more than $1 billion for host communities, and it drew immediate pushback from critics who call it too little.

What happened

On Friday, October 2, 2026, Garman published a blog post laying out commitments Amazon says it is making to communities that host its data centers. As quoted by TechCrunch, he wrote: “We no longer use nondisclosure agreements with the government agencies we work with on our projects.” TechCrunch described the line as one sentence inside a much longer post meant to push back on suspicion of data centers.

In the same post, according to WIRED, Garman acknowledged how strong the local backlash has become. “Right now there are over 100 data center moratoriums being considered across the country,” he wrote, adding that if such measures are enacted, the US “could be writing its own losing ticket” in the AI race. TechCrunch also noted that New York has announced a one-year moratorium on permits for large data centers. Per Ars Technica, Amazon also committed to donating more than $1 billion over the next five years to communities near its data centers, with communities deciding how to prioritize the money across areas such as education, job training and energy affordability.

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Key details

The NDA pledge

WIRED explained why NDAs have become a flashpoint. Local officials who sign them are typically unable to share information with the public, such as a project’s energy and water use, and some agreements reportedly bar officials from even naming the companies involved. WIRED cited a Tucson, Arizona case in which Amazon was revealed last year as the tenant of a controversial data center through a public records request, despite an NDA barring county officials from identifying the end tenant; WIRED says Amazon has since exited that project.

WIRED also reported that Amazon told The Wall Street Journal it was no longer using NDAs, after Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democratic sponsor of the bipartisan No Secrets for Data Centers Act in the House, sent letters this week to Amazon, Google, Meta and Oracle asking about their use of the agreements. According to WIRED, Google, Meta and Oracle did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment.

The money and the other promises

• Funding: WIRED says the $1 billion over five years is earmarked for free community college programs, workforce training, and energy-efficiency upgrades for schools, homes and community buildings. TechCrunch quotes Garman saying Amazon has contributed more than $1 billion over the past three years to communities with a meaningful data center presence.
• Power bills and water: Ars Technica reports Amazon also promised that its data centers would not raise power bills or wipe out local water supplies, and said it aims to be “water positive” by 2030, claiming 75 percent of projects have already met that goal.
• Myth-busting: TechCrunch says Garman targeted what he called four myths: that data centers use too much water, raise electricity costs, cause huge pollution, and offer communities no benefit.

Where the claims are disputed

TechCrunch pointed out that Garman’s water argument, which cites an Amazon report putting direct data center water use at 0.5% of US industrial water use, appears to leave out the water involved in generating electricity and making chips. It also noted scientists have said data center water and energy use needs independent study because there are no federal or state reporting requirements. On electricity, Garman argued that rates rose mainly where grids were old and under-invested; TechCrunch countered that an independent watchdog recently blamed data centers as the main driver of a 76% year-over-year price increase on America’s largest electrical grid.

Environmental group Stand.Earth told Ars Technica the pledge is “a flailing attempt at damage control.” The group said ending NDAs will likely help make projects more transparent, but argued that many core community concerns go unaddressed, including a planned power plant in Pecos, Texas. Stand.Earth also compared the $1 billion over five years with the roughly $220 billion it says Amazon is investing in data centers in 2026 alone.

Why it matters

• Secrecy has been a main grievance. TechCrunch quoted activist Erin Brockovich naming transparency as the top complaint she hears about data centers, so dropping NDAs speaks to a central objection, if the pledge holds up.
• The policy fight is moving fast. WIRED reports that the governors of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Delaware have cracked down on data center NDAs in executive orders, and that several states have considered bans.
• Amazon is framing this as a race. Garman argued that blocking data centers risks the US falling behind in AI. WIRED noted that experts say claims of Chinese-seeded misinformation driving the backlash are widely overblown, with little evidence behind them.
• Trust is the real test. TechCrunch cited Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei describing the AI backlash as “fundamentally a crisis of trust,” suggesting promises alone may not settle local opposition.

What's next

A key open question is scope. WIRED reported that Amazon did not respond to its questions about whether the NDA pledge also covers contractors, which matters because end tenants are often not the party dealing directly with officials. WIRED pointed to a Wharton County, Texas official who, as the Houston Chronicle reported, signed an NDA with a contractor rather than with Amazon.

It is also unclear whether Amazon will publish details or independent verification of its power-bill and water pledges. Meanwhile, the House bill, state-level measures and the 100-plus moratorium proposals Garman referenced will continue to play out. Details of any one proposal are best checked with the relevant state or local government.

FAQ

Has Amazon really stopped using NDAs on data centers?

That is what Amazon says. Matt Garman wrote in a blog post on Friday, October 2, that the company no longer uses NDAs with the government agencies it works with on its projects, per TechCrunch. WIRED reported that Amazon did not say whether the pledge extends to contractors, and independent confirmation of the change was not part of the coverage.

How many data center moratoriums are being considered?

Garman said in his post that over 100 are being considered across the country. That figure comes from Amazon’s CEO, and the outlets reported it as his claim rather than an independent count. TechCrunch separately reported that New York announced a one-year moratorium on permits for large data centers.

Will Amazon’s $1 billion commitment lower local power bills?

Amazon says its data centers will not raise power bills, according to Ars Technica, but the claim is disputed. TechCrunch reported that an independent watchdog attributed a 76% year-over-year price rise on the largest US grid mainly to data centers. The $1 billion itself is described as funding for education, job training and energy-efficiency upgrades, not bill reductions.

Sources

• WIRED – Amazon Says It’s No Longer Using NDAs for Data Centers
• TechCrunch – Amazon responds to data center backlash, says it no longer uses NDAs
• Ars Technica – Amazon’s $1B plan to combat data center backlash draws more backlash

Amazon says it has stopped using nondisclosure agreements with the government agencies it works with on data center projects, as AWS CEO Matt Garman warns that more than 100 local data center moratoriums are being considered across the United States. According to WIRED, TechCrunch and Ars Technica, the announcement came in a Friday blog post that also promised more than $1 billion for host communities, and it drew immediate pushback from critics who call it too little.

What happened

On Friday, October 2, 2026, Garman published a blog post laying out commitments Amazon says it is making to communities that host its data centers. As quoted by TechCrunch, he wrote: “We no longer use nondisclosure agreements with the government agencies we work with on our projects.” TechCrunch described the line as one sentence inside a much longer post meant to push back on suspicion of data centers.

In the same post, according to WIRED, Garman acknowledged how strong the local backlash has become. “Right now there are over 100 data center moratoriums being considered across the country,” he wrote, adding that if such measures are enacted, the US “could be writing its own losing ticket” in the AI race. TechCrunch also noted that New York has announced a one-year moratorium on permits for large data centers. Per Ars Technica, Amazon also committed to donating more than $1 billion over the next five years to communities near its data centers, with communities deciding how to prioritize the money across areas such as education, job training and energy affordability.

Advertisement

Key details

The NDA pledge

WIRED explained why NDAs have become a flashpoint. Local officials who sign them are typically unable to share information with the public, such as a project’s energy and water use, and some agreements reportedly bar officials from even naming the companies involved. WIRED cited a Tucson, Arizona case in which Amazon was revealed last year as the tenant of a controversial data center through a public records request, despite an NDA barring county officials from identifying the end tenant; WIRED says Amazon has since exited that project.

WIRED also reported that Amazon told The Wall Street Journal it was no longer using NDAs, after Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democratic sponsor of the bipartisan No Secrets for Data Centers Act in the House, sent letters this week to Amazon, Google, Meta and Oracle asking about their use of the agreements. According to WIRED, Google, Meta and Oracle did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment.

The money and the other promises

• Funding: WIRED says the $1 billion over five years is earmarked for free community college programs, workforce training, and energy-efficiency upgrades for schools, homes and community buildings. TechCrunch quotes Garman saying Amazon has contributed more than $1 billion over the past three years to communities with a meaningful data center presence.
• Power bills and water: Ars Technica reports Amazon also promised that its data centers would not raise power bills or wipe out local water supplies, and said it aims to be “water positive” by 2030, claiming 75 percent of projects have already met that goal.
• Myth-busting: TechCrunch says Garman targeted what he called four myths: that data centers use too much water, raise electricity costs, cause huge pollution, and offer communities no benefit.

Where the claims are disputed

TechCrunch pointed out that Garman’s water argument, which cites an Amazon report putting direct data center water use at 0.5% of US industrial water use, appears to leave out the water involved in generating electricity and making chips. It also noted scientists have said data center water and energy use needs independent study because there are no federal or state reporting requirements. On electricity, Garman argued that rates rose mainly where grids were old and under-invested; TechCrunch countered that an independent watchdog recently blamed data centers as the main driver of a 76% year-over-year price increase on America’s largest electrical grid.

Environmental group Stand.Earth told Ars Technica the pledge is “a flailing attempt at damage control.” The group said ending NDAs will likely help make projects more transparent, but argued that many core community concerns go unaddressed, including a planned power plant in Pecos, Texas. Stand.Earth also compared the $1 billion over five years with the roughly $220 billion it says Amazon is investing in data centers in 2026 alone.

Why it matters

• Secrecy has been a main grievance. TechCrunch quoted activist Erin Brockovich naming transparency as the top complaint she hears about data centers, so dropping NDAs speaks to a central objection, if the pledge holds up.
• The policy fight is moving fast. WIRED reports that the governors of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Delaware have cracked down on data center NDAs in executive orders, and that several states have considered bans.
• Amazon is framing this as a race. Garman argued that blocking data centers risks the US falling behind in AI. WIRED noted that experts say claims of Chinese-seeded misinformation driving the backlash are widely overblown, with little evidence behind them.
• Trust is the real test. TechCrunch cited Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei describing the AI backlash as “fundamentally a crisis of trust,” suggesting promises alone may not settle local opposition.

What's next

A key open question is scope. WIRED reported that Amazon did not respond to its questions about whether the NDA pledge also covers contractors, which matters because end tenants are often not the party dealing directly with officials. WIRED pointed to a Wharton County, Texas official who, as the Houston Chronicle reported, signed an NDA with a contractor rather than with Amazon.

It is also unclear whether Amazon will publish details or independent verification of its power-bill and water pledges. Meanwhile, the House bill, state-level measures and the 100-plus moratorium proposals Garman referenced will continue to play out. Details of any one proposal are best checked with the relevant state or local government.

FAQ

Has Amazon really stopped using NDAs on data centers?

That is what Amazon says. Matt Garman wrote in a blog post on Friday, October 2, that the company no longer uses NDAs with the government agencies it works with on its projects, per TechCrunch. WIRED reported that Amazon did not say whether the pledge extends to contractors, and independent confirmation of the change was not part of the coverage.

How many data center moratoriums are being considered?

Garman said in his post that over 100 are being considered across the country. That figure comes from Amazon’s CEO, and the outlets reported it as his claim rather than an independent count. TechCrunch separately reported that New York announced a one-year moratorium on permits for large data centers.

Will Amazon’s $1 billion commitment lower local power bills?

Amazon says its data centers will not raise power bills, according to Ars Technica, but the claim is disputed. TechCrunch reported that an independent watchdog attributed a 76% year-over-year price rise on the largest US grid mainly to data centers. The $1 billion itself is described as funding for education, job training and energy-efficiency upgrades, not bill reductions.

Sources

• WIRED – Amazon Says It’s No Longer Using NDAs for Data Centers
• TechCrunch – Amazon responds to data center backlash, says it no longer uses NDAs
• Ars Technica – Amazon’s $1B plan to combat data center backlash draws more backlash