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Amazon drops NDAs in data center talks as local opposition grows
Amazon said it will no longer use nondisclosure agreements when negotiating with local governments over data centers, following a similar move by Microsoft earlier this year. The change comes as communities including San Francisco pass data center moratoriums and New York pauses permits for large projects.
Key points
- Amazon will stop using NDAs in data center negotiations with local governments.
- Microsoft made a similar announcement earlier in 2026.
- San Francisco passed a moratorium and New York paused permits for large projects for a year.
What happened: Amazon said it will no longer use nondisclosure agreements while negotiating with local governments over data centers, TechCrunch reported. The commitment appeared in a longer Amazon blog post arguing that data centers benefit communities. Microsoft made a similar announcement earlier in 2026.
Background: Many communities have passed data center moratoriums, including a recent one in San Francisco. New York has a one-year moratorium on permits for large projects while the state finalizes an environmental review process. Residents have raised concerns about property values, electricity bills and water usage, TechCrunch's Sean O'Kane said.
The details: O'Kane argued that the core problem is communication, saying projects are often negotiated in secret and that the industry "just does a really poor job explaining itself." TechCrunch's Anthony Ha called dropping NDAs "a good first step," but said it does not guarantee community support. Rebecca Bellan questioned whether moratoriums will have a lasting effect, noting they last a year or two while many data centers "aren't coming online for the next two, three, four, five years." She said buildouts also face delays from zoning and funding.
What to watch: Amazon has not disclosed which pending projects the policy will apply to, and plans by other large cloud providers were not reported.
Our take
Local opposition to data centers is becoming a factor in how fast AI capacity comes online, which can affect the availability and price of cloud AI services.