Amazon drops NDAs on data centers

Amazon announced it will no longer use nondisclosure agreements while negotiating with local governments over data center projects, following Microsoft's earlier decision.

The NDA announcement was buried

Amazon made the announcement in a longer blog post arguing that data centers are good for communities, rather than highlighting the transparency move itself.

Moratoriums may not stop projects

Data center moratoriums typically last one or two years, but these projects take two, three, four, five years to come online due to zoning and funding delays.

New York has a one year moratorium

New York imposed a one year moratorium on permits for large data center projects, though it is technically until the state finalizes an environmental review process.

San Francisco also passed a moratorium

San Francisco recently passed a data center moratorium, which Rebecca Bellan noted is ironic given the city's tech industry presence.

Companies seem genuinely worried

Despite moratoriums being temporary, data center backers appear concerned, as evidenced by unhinged tweets from people like Trump or David Sacks.

Secrecy fuels the backlash

Many data center projects are negotiated in secret, with communities sometimes not knowing who will actually use or occupy the facility once built.

Uber used the same tactic

In the mid-2010s, Uber negotiated tax subsidies with a city outside Orlando in secret, and the secrecy allowed the company to become comfortable asking for more.

Removing NDAs is a first step

Getting rid of NDAs will not automatically convince opponents to support data centers, but it addresses the fundamental problem that communities do not know what is being negotiated.

The real problem is communication

The tech industry does a poor job explaining itself and why data centers matter to ordinary people, which drives opposition more than secrecy alone.

“the industry just does a really poor job explaining itself, and that they are obviously and constantly frustrated with the fact that most people can't envision a world in which this stuff is useful for them”

Tech avoids traditional media

The tech industry increasingly operates on a go-direct strategy, avoiding media engagement, which worsens the communication problem around AI and data centers.

Tesla's abundance mission lacks clarity

Tesla announced a mission of sustainable abundance, now called amazing abundance, but even after a year and a multi-page PDF, the company has not defined it clearly.

Communities demand the case be made

Rather than accepting that an AI-driven future is inevitable, communities are pushing back and demanding that companies actually make the case for why data centers benefit them.

“You can't just say, This is the future, shut up.”

The vision question matters more

For Tesla and similar companies, the debate is no longer just about selling products but about the vision for remaking society that investors and supporters are being sold.