Amazon and Microsoft End Secret Data Center Deals With Local Governments
Amazon says it will no longer use nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), legal promises to keep negotiations private, when negotiating data center deals with local governments as of Oct. 9, 2026. TechCrunch
AWS CEO Matt Garman said Amazon Web Services has stopped using NDAs in its work with government agencies on data center projects. TechCrunch
Microsoft made a similar commitment earlier, announcing in March 2026 that it will no longer use NDAs with local governments for data center development. Wisconsin Public Radio
The broader context here is information control, not construction. An NDA with a town or county does not change concrete, steel or power needs. It controls timing. It sets what elected officials and staff can say publicly, and when residents get to review a proposal. Teams used to picking sites quietly will need to work in the open earlier.
Looking at what this means in practice, the change is mostly procedural. Legal and development teams will need to assume that early emails, term sheets — short documents outlining basic deal terms — and project plans shared with a local agency could become public sooner. That calls for clearer paperwork and closer coordination between public-affairs staff, engineers and lawyers. The policy does not end confidentiality for vendor talks, equipment purchases or internal capacity planning. As described by both companies, it applies to local governments.
In my view, the useful part for technologists is not the legal paperwork but the earlier review it allows. Data centers touch land use, power and water planning, and day-to-day local operations. Earlier visibility gives engineers a fuller picture of limits before building starts. It also gives residents more time to ask basic questions about traffic, power and noise. That can slow the start. Over a facility that runs for decades, an early argument is usually cheaper than a late fix.
Looking ahead, the test will be how consistently this is carried out. Ending NDAs with local governments sets an expectation for openness. The work now is applying it across regions, giving staff clear rules on what can be shared, and staying in conversation once plans are public. Openness by itself does not approve a project or settle tradeoffs. It lets technical needs and local priorities be discussed directly. For buildings that will run for decades, that direct conversation should make operations steadier.
The broader context here worth noting is convergence. With two companies now stating the same policy for local government talks, expectations for future proposals shift. Local officials can point to precedent. Development teams can plan for open timelines from the start. That does not make every deal the same, since local rules still differ. In this author's view, the longer-term payoff is predictability. Open records and open meetings are easier to plan around than confidentiality granted case by case.
