Amazon has joined Microsoft in abandoning nondisclosure agreements with local governments when siting new data centers. The move comes as more than 100 proposed moratoriums on such projects circulate across the U.S. and communities from New York to Utah push back against the power, water and secrecy demands of AI infrastructure.

Announced in a blog post by AWS CEO Matt Garman, the policy shift forms one small part of a broader defense of data centers. Garman argued the facilities bring jobs, tax revenue and community investments. Over three years, he wrote, Amazon contributed more than $1 billion to areas with significant data center operations. Yet the announcement arrives amid growing skepticism that corporate promises alone can restore trust.

Secrecy bred much of the anger. Projects often surfaced only after permits were secured and officials had signed NDAs. Residents learned late about massive electricity draws, water consumption for cooling and potential rate hikes. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich highlighted transparency as the top complaint she hears: developers who don’t return calls, officials bound by silence.

But dropping the NDAs may not flip the script overnight. On the latest episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Anthony Ha, Sean O’Kane and Rebecca Bellan dissected the announcement. O’Kane pointed to a deeper industry failure. “We’ve seen, through a lot of the controversy and backlash to AI and data centers, that the industry just does a really poor job explaining itself,” he said. People struggle to picture how these facilities deliver value to them.

Bellan expressed doubt that short-term moratoriums would derail long-term construction. Many data centers won’t come online for years anyway. Still, the podcast participants noted clear worry among data center advocates. The push for openness signals concern that opposition could harden into lasting barriers.

Transparency alone falls short when core concerns remain unaddressed.

Recent developments underscore the point. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Van Hollen released findings from an investigation showing data center operators do not cover the full costs imposed on ratepayers. The companies continue seeking tax breaks while using NDAs with utilities and partners to limit scrutiny. Their October 9 report highlighted how confidentiality clauses keep communities in the dark about impacts on electricity bills and local services. (U.S. Senate report)

Lawmakers have responded with force. A bipartisan trio — Reps. Greg Landsman, Jamie Raskin and Tom Barrett — introduced the No Secrets for Data Centers Act in September. It would void NDAs signed by government officials on these projects and bar companies from receiving subsidies tied to confidentiality. Raskin sent letters demanding answers from Amazon, Google, Meta and Oracle. Amazon replied that it had already stopped the practice. (WIRED)

States moved first. Governors in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Delaware issued executive orders restricting NDAs with public officials. New York imposed a one-year statewide pause on hyperscale data centers. In East Fishkill, N.Y., once home to IBM’s semiconductor work, residents secured a three-year moratorium on large projects after a proposed 1-gigawatt campus sparked protests over water use and noise. The town once embraced tech. Now it questions the trade-offs. (The Guardian)

Utah offers a stark example of political fallout. Elected officials who fast-tracked permits without proper notice to neighbors have lost their seats. Polling from Utah State University found 68% of residents oppose data centers within three miles of homes, driven by water worries and exclusion from decisions. Hundreds of projects nationwide sit stalled or under review. One tracker counts 387 delayed, canceled or scrutinized permits in the first half of 2026 alone. (Deseret News)

The numbers tell a story of strain. Data centers can consume enormous power. Some proposals include on-site natural gas plants, raising air quality alarms. Cooling demands pull millions of gallons of water daily in drought areas. Grid operators scramble. A coalition including Google, Nvidia and Anthropic formed the AI Energy Management Alliance with Emerald AI to explore demand response tactics that might free up capacity. Yet such technical fixes address only part of the resistance.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei described the situation as a crisis of trust. People assume governments and tech firms cook up ways to disadvantage them. That sentiment echoes in town halls from Virginia’s Loudoun County, where data centers already generate nearly 40% of the budget, to rural Utah counties where recalls and death threats have followed approval votes.

Microsoft made the first big move earlier this year, announcing it would stop requesting NDAs. Amazon’s follow-through suggests the practice is becoming untenable. Garman warned that widespread moratoriums could hand the AI race to other nations with consequences lasting generations. The industry, he and others argue, must communicate better.

Yet communication requires more than open negotiations. It demands credible answers on who pays for grid upgrades, how much water gets used, whether permanent jobs materialize beyond construction, and if residential rates stay stable. Senate investigators found companies define “full costs” narrowly, covering only direct infrastructure while shifting system-wide burdens to ratepayers. Tax incentives remain common. Independent studies of cumulative impacts stay rare.

So the NDA retreat marks a tactical adjustment. It removes one flashpoint. Officials can now speak more freely with constituents before deals close. Residents might learn earlier about proposed sites and scale. But the podcast discussion captured the prevailing uncertainty. One host noted that opponents won’t suddenly embrace projects simply because talks occur in daylight. The conversation must start with basic facts. What exactly is being built? How does it affect daily life? And who truly benefits?

New reporting from this week reinforces the tension. As moratoriums spread and politicians lose elections over data center votes, the AI sector confronts a political reality. Technical prowess and investment scale no longer guarantee smooth expansion. Public consent has become the bottleneck. Whether voluntary transparency evolves into statutory requirements or genuine partnership will shape the next phase of infrastructure growth. The industry has taken a step. Communities are watching to see what follows.