AWS Ends NDAs With Government Agencies as Data Center Moratoriums Mount

Amazon Web Services has stopped using nondisclosure agreements with government agencies involved in its data center projects, CEO Matt Garman said on October 3, 2026, as the company pushes back against growing local opposition to new construction. Garman said more than 100 data center moratoriums are under consideration across the United States, following New York's one-year permit freeze on large facilities. He warned that enacting such measures would carry generational economic consequences. Amazon claims direct data center water consumption represents 0.5% of U.S. industrial water usage and that generators run roughly 10 hours per year. The company said it has contributed over $1 billion to host communities in three years. Critics remain unconvinced. An independent watchdog attributed a 76% year-over-year electricity price increase on the largest U.S. grid to data centers, and the NAACP is suing SpaceX and xAI over pollution.