'It was really a breach of trust': Commissioner regrets signing NDA for data center, supports ban

Activists and concerned citizens gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol on Wednesday to support a proposed bill aimed at banning local governments from signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with tech companies. These NDAs are frequently used during the development of data centers and are criticized for shielding information from the public. St. Louis County Commissioner Annie Harala expressed her strong regret over signing an NDA, which she later discovered was for a Google data center project in Hermantown. She described it as a "breach of trust" with her community and now actively supports the ban. Other proponents of the bill argue it doesn't go far enough, with Rebecca Gilbertson of Hermantown calling for a statewide moratorium on data centers in Minnesota. Aaron Klemz, strategy officer at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, highlighted that NDAs can obscure crucial details about proposed projects, including their nature and ownership. His nonprofit has previously taken legal action against municipalities over data center developments. Both Meta, which is developing a data center in Rosemount, and Google, with projects in Hermantown and Pine Island, are key companies in this discussion. Meta issued a statement defending confidentiality during project development, asserting it enhances efficiency and speed by keeping stakeholders focused. Google did not immediately comment on the matter.