Amazon Web Services (AWS) has stopped using nondisclosure agreements for its data center projects.

In a blog post published today by AWS CEO Matt Garman, the company noted that it no longer uses "nondisclosure agreements with the government agencies we work with on our projects."

The move is part of a series of commitments the company is making, many of which have either been previously stated or are common practice for the company, including AWS' pledge to cover utility infrastructure upgrade costs to ensure electricity bills don't increase for residents in the community, working with local officials to direct tax contributions to the right community initiatives, contributing to local non-profits and community organizations, creating jobs in the area, and designing and building data centers to be energy- and water-efficient.

The company has also announced its community program "Built Together" in which it will invest a further $1 billion in community initiatives across the US.

The overall purpose of the blog post seems to be to quash negative perceptions of data center projects, with Garman noting "myths" about data centers including large water usage, projects driving up energy rates, and the environmental impact of backup generators, and challenging these notions.

Garman urges communities to encourage and accept the current data center buildout being seen across the US and elsewhere.

He writes: "With any change, there will be important questions raised, but there will also be misinformation and outright lies, and in the age of social media and 24/7 news, myths take hold faster than ever before. In fact, this buildout is so important geopolitically that there are widespread reports of various countries intentionally seeding misinformation in the US about data centers to trick us into slowing down.

"Right now, there are over 100 data center moratoriums being considered across the country. If these measures are enacted, the US could be writing its own losing ticket to this race, and the consequences would last generations. As a country, we can’t afford to find ourselves in that position."

The move to ditch NDAs comes just over half a year after competitor Microsoft revealed that it would no longer ask local governments to sign NDAs.

The move also comes just days after US Representative Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, launched an investigation into Amazon, Google, Meta and Oracle over their use of NDAs for data center projects.

Raskin found that Amazon's former secrecy agreements prevented local officials from disclosing broadly defined “proprietary” or “confidential” information, which led to uncertainty as to what could be shared.

In addition, Amazon has used shell companies to conceal its involvement in proposed data centers.

The blog post from CEO Garman did not address this issue, or the use of opaque project codenames. DCD has contacted AWS for comment on whether these practises will continue.