Amazon drops NDAs in data center talks with local governments

Amazon has announced that it will no longer use nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) when negotiating with local governments over data centers. Microsoft made a similar commitment earlier this year. Amazon's pledge appeared inside a longer blog post arguing that data centers benefit communities, and the hosts of TechCrunch's Equity podcast discussed it in their latest episode.

Secrecy as the root problem

TechCrunch's Sean O'Kane said many disputes over data centers' effects on property values, electricity bills and water use stem from projects being negotiated almost in secret. In some cases the public knows a data center is planned but not who will use it. He recalled that Uber used a similar tactic in the mid-2010s, when it privately negotiated with a city near Orlando over tax subsidies.

Will moratoriums matter?

TechCrunch's Rebecca Bellan is skeptical that the recent data center moratoriums will have a lasting effect. They last only a year or two, while the data centers themselves are not expected to come online for two to five years, and buildouts are already being delayed by zoning and funding issues. She cited a recent moratorium in San Francisco. Anthony Ha pointed to New York's moratorium on permits for large projects, which lasts until the state finishes an environmental review expected to take about a year. He thinks backers of the projects are worried, citing sharp comments from Donald Trump and David Sacks.

A communication problem

O'Kane argued that the industry explains itself poorly and struggles to show people how the technology could be useful to them. Ha added that ending NDAs will not automatically win over opponents, but it begins a conversation, since communities previously did not know what was being planned.