Amazon writes scary blog warning communities not to block data centers — SkimNews
Get the Tech newsletter
Daily tech — startups, AI labs, chips, the launches that shape the next decade. Free.
- Matt Garman published a 3,000+ word blog arguing the US "can't afford to lose" the AI race and warning that blocking data centers poses irreparable harm to the economy and national security.
- Amazon cited "widespread reports" of foreign countries seeding misinformation about data centers to trick the US into slowing its buildout, framing grassroots opposition as a geopolitical tool.
- Over 100 data center moratoriums are currently being considered across the country, per Garman, who said enactment would amount to the US "writing its own losing ticket."
- Amazon rolled out a "Data Center Commitment" pledging job creation, protections against local energy rate increases, and more than $1 billion in investments for communities neighboring its facilities.
- Amazon said it no longer uses NDAs with government agencies, a policy shift that followed inquiries from Democratic lawmaker Jamie Raskin into secret deals between tech firms and local officials.
- David Zapolsky, Amazon's chief global affairs and legal officer, acknowledged "the industry comes from a history of secrecy," calling the prior NDA practice "just reflex."
Why it matters: Amazon is escalating from opaque local siting negotiations to a national PR campaign as community opposition hardens into 100+ moratoriums. Dropping NDAs and pledging $1B to neighboring communities shows the company now treats regulatory friction—not capital or chips—as the binding constraint on its AI infrastructure buildout.
Ask SkimNews
