Amazon and Microsoft Drop Local NDAs as Data Center Opposition Mounts

Amazon has followed Microsoft's lead by announcing that it will no longer use nondisclosure agreements while negotiating with local governments over data center projects. The policy shift was disclosed within a broader corporate blog post advocating the local economic benefits of data center developments, as discussed on TechCrunch's Equity podcast and reported by TechCrunch AI (https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/11/can-the-ai-industry-persuade-data-center-opponents-by-getting-rid-of-ndas/).

The move away from municipal NDAs comes as hyperscalers face rising pushback from local communities over resource consumption and grid capacity. During the podcast discussion, TechCrunch's Sean O'Kane, Rebecca Bellan, and Anthony Ha examined how negotiating infrastructure projects behind closed doors has fueled neighborhood skepticism over electricity rates, water usage, and property values.

O'Kane argued that secret negotiations sit at the root of much of the current friction surrounding artificial intelligence infrastructure. In many instances, local governments have negotiated project terms with developers without disclosing the ultimate corporate tenant. O'Kane compared the dynamic to Uber's municipal expansion in the mid-2010s, such as closed negotiations near Orlando regarding transit subsidies, where initial secrecy allowed broader corporate requests to proceed outside public scrutiny.

Despite an increase in municipal moratoriums—including temporary bans in cities such as San Francisco—the panel noted uncertainty over whether local legislation will halt broader infrastructure pipelines. Bellan highlighted that many local moratoriums last only one to two years, whereas large data center facilities routinely take two to five years to come online due to standard zoning, financing, and construction timelines.

In New York, where permits for major projects face a one-year pause pending the completion of a state environmental review, Ha noted that such mechanisms allow regulators time to study environmental impacts rather than outright rejecting facilities. However, public commentary from high-profile figures such as venture capitalist David Sacks and former President Donald Trump suggests data center proponents are increasingly concerned by community resistance.

Microsoft implemented a similar non-disclosure policy earlier this year. While eliminating NDAs does not resolve substantive resource constraints, commentators noted that transparent negotiations remove an immediate layer of public distrust around large-scale AI hardware investments.