Amazon Ends Data Center NDAs, Launches $1B Fund
Amazon says it will stop asking local governments to sign nondisclosure agreements for data center projects and is launching a five-year, $1 billion community investment program. The policy change follows opposition to Amazon's Richmond County, North Carolina, campus, including an environmental legal challenge over air-quality permits for backup generators.
Amazon Web Services announced that it will no longer require local governments to sign nondisclosure agreements before approving data center projects. CEO Matt Garman said the company plans to disclose project information earlier, hold public open houses and engage with residents. Amazon also launched Built Together, a five-year, $1 billion program supporting education, workforce development, energy affordability and water initiatives in communities where it builds data centers.
The announcement follows controversy surrounding Amazon's planned $10 billion campus in Richmond County, North Carolina. Local officials had signed NDAs before the project was announced, and environmental groups later challenged state air-quality permits covering nearly 600 permanent and temporary backup generators. Critics also argue that the community investment pledge is smaller than Amazon's tax benefits and leaves questions about NDAs used by third-party developers and contractors unresolved.
The policy shift comes amid broader opposition to data center development, including proposed moratoriums and legal challenges nationwide. Microsoft has also ended similar NDA practices, while lawmakers and state officials in several states have moved to restrict confidentiality agreements in local data center negotiations.