Matt Garman, chief executive of Amazon Web Services, announced that the company no longer employs nondisclosure agreements when negotiating with government bodies for new data-center projects. The comment appeared in a brief statement within a longer blog post aimed at countering growing public suspicion of large-scale computing facilities and highlighting perceived community advantages.
The policy change follows a series of local actions, including a one-year freeze on large data-center permits in New York. Garman indicated that more than one hundred similar moratoriums are under consideration across various U.S. jurisdictions, reflecting heightened regulatory scrutiny of the sector’s expansion plans.
In the same post, Garman identified four common criticisms of data centers: excessive water consumption, higher electricity bills for nearby residents, substantial pollutant releases, and a lack of local benefits. He argued that each claim is overstated, asserting that modern facilities can operate efficiently, keep costs stable, limit emissions, and contribute positively to surrounding neighborhoods.
Nvidia recently promoted a cooling technology it says eliminates almost all water use inside a data center, yet the claim overlooks water demands associated with power generation and semiconductor fabrication. Scientists have called for independent assessments of water and energy footprints because current federal and state frameworks do not require tech firms to disclose such metrics publicly.
An independent watchdog reported that data centers were identified as the primary driver behind a 76 percent year-over-year increase in prices on America’s largest electrical grid. The same outlet highlighted broader concerns about the sector’s impact on energy markets, while the NAACP has initiated litigation against SpaceX/xAI over alleged pollution violations, underscoring the growing environmental focus on high-tech operations.
Garman also noted that critics often concentrate on the maximum emissions allowed under permits rather than actual output. He cited a planned Amazon facility in Texas that is authorized to emit 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, a figure exceeding emissions from any existing U.S. power plant, and argued that such caps do not reflect real-world operational practices.