Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman announced the company has stopped using nondisclosure agreements with government agencies during data center approval processes, disclosing the change in a blog post that also addressed what he called four myths about data centers. Garman cited more than 100 data center moratoriums currently being considered across the United States, including a one-year moratorium on permits for large data centers in New York. He argued that data center generators run only about 10 hours per year for maintenance testing and that direct data center water consumption accounts for 0.5% of all industrial water usage in the United States, citing an Amazon report. Garman also noted Amazon has contributed more than $1 billion to U.S. communities with significant data center presence over the past three years.
The NDA policy change is a direct response to mounting community opposition, including criticism from environmental activist Erin Brockovich, and comes as more than 100 moratoriums on data center permits are reportedly under consideration nationwide. The move sets a visible industry benchmark on government transparency that other operators may face pressure to match, particularly as permit battles intensify in multiple states.
Amazon publicly abandoning NDA requirements for data center projects is a direct corporate policy response to community opposition, marking a notable shift and distinct from the previously published Virginia governor NDA ban story.