Amazon Ends Data-Center NDAs as AI Infrastructure Faces Backlash

What changed

Amazon says it will stop using nondisclosure agreements when negotiating data-center deals with local governments. Microsoft made a similar move earlier in 2026, as secrecy around AI infrastructure has helped fuel community opposition affecting hundreds of proposed and enacted projects.

Why it matters

An NDA can turn a public infrastructure decision into a private conversation. Ending that practice gives local governments more room to discuss proposed data centers openly, including with the communities that will live alongside them.

That matters because opposition is no longer confined to a few isolated disputes. Hundreds of projects have faced resistance or been enacted amid backlash, according to the reporting. More disclosure could make it easier to scrutinize deals before they harden into commitments.

But transparency is not the same thing as trust. Amazon and Microsoft are changing the terms of negotiation; they have not yet shown that openness alone will persuade communities that AI infrastructure deserves approval. The useful test will be whether local governments and residents can see enough of the deal to judge it before the project is settled.