AWS CEO Matt Garman disclosed the change in a blog post defending data centers against a wave of local permit moratoriums.
Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman said the company has stopped using nondisclosure agreements when dealing with government agencies. The one-line disclosure appeared in a longer blog post where Garman argued that data centers benefit the communities that host them.
NDAs sit at the center of a broader backlash against data center construction. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich said transparency is the top complaint she hears, with projects often announced only after permits are secured. New York enacted a one-year moratorium on permits for large data centers.
For operators, transparency is becoming a permitting requirement rather than a public relations choice. Community opposition now translates directly into moratoriums, longer approval timelines, and added cost for new capacity. Teams scouting sites should expect open records requests and public hearings as standard steps.
Garman disputed four claims about data centers: heavy water use, rising electricity costs, large pollution, and no community benefit. He cited an Amazon report saying direct data center water consumption equals about 0.5% of United States industrial water use. Watch whether federal or state reporting requirements follow, since independent researchers say they lack the data to verify industry figures.
What matters
- Garman said AWS stopped signing NDAs with government agencies as it seeks approval for new builds.
- Transparency fights now shape where operators can site and power new capacity in the United States.
- More than 100 data center moratoriums are under consideration across the country, Garman said.
Why it matters
More than 100 data center moratoriums are under consideration across the country, Garman said.
This GenAI News article was prepared in original wording using reporting and materials published by TechCrunch AI. Source reference: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/03/amazon-responds-to-data-center-backlash-says-it-no-longer-uses-ndas/.
Drafted by the GenAI News review pipeline.