AWS no NDAs data centers is now official company policy. On Friday, October 2, AWS chief executive Matt Garman announced the change on LinkedIn. The cloud giant will no longer ask local government agencies to sign nondisclosure agreements for data center projects. It is the kind of reversal that only happens when the alternative looks worse.

Garman framed the announcement as a virtue. He unveiled a Data Center Commitment for communities around AWS facilities. He also launched a new Built Together program promising more than $1 billion in local investment over the next five years. There will be open houses, earlier information sharing, and annual public reports on energy, water, and carbon. Read the timing, though, and the virtue looks more like arithmetic.

What the AWS no NDAs data centers pledge actually covers

The South Bend Tribune first reported the announcement. According to its reporting, the commitment includes making sure the rates AWS pays cover the energy and infrastructure its projects require. Other customers will not absorb those costs. AWS will share information earlier, hold community open houses, and prioritize local hiring and procurement. It will publicly report energy use, energy efficiency, water use, water efficiency, and carbon-free energy every year. It will also invest in local grid and water infrastructure. “We share information about our plans as early as possible, listen to concerns, and ensure communities have the facts and the ability to engage with us as projects progress,” Garman said.

The Built Together program will put more than $1 billion over five years toward free community college, job training, and energy efficiency upgrades for schools, homes, and community buildings, GeekWire reports. That is real money. It is also, for a company projecting roughly $220 billion in capital expenses this year, a rounding error with good optics.

The number that forced his hand

Garman did not hide the pressure. In his announcement, he wrote that “right now there are over 100 data center moratoriums being considered across the country.” He warned that “if these measures are enacted, the U.S. could be writing its own losing ticket to this race, and the consequences would last generations.” WIRED’s Molly Taft reported that Garman acknowledged the fierce community backlash could push data centers toward moratoriums nationwide. He also blamed the opposition on “misinformation and outright lies,” which tells you this was not exactly a humility exercise.

That is the tell. Nobody surrenders a secrecy regime because they suddenly love sunlight. AWS spent years cutting quiet deals for land, power, and water while public officials signed NDAs. The Tribune reported one example: a 2023 NDA between AWS and South Bend’s public works director over a New Carlisle data center. South Bend then spent the last month banning exactly these agreements. The mayor signed an executive order in mid-September. The Common Council voted unanimously on September 28 to prohibit NDAs on data center projects. Garman’s announcement landed three weeks after the council started moving. This was not a change of heart. It was a map reading.

The pledge has limits, and they matter

Note what the promise covers: future agreements with government agencies. Amazon has not said whether it will release existing NDAs. WIRED’s reporting also raised the question of whether the pledge even covers contractors negotiating on Amazon’s behalf, according to a summary of that reporting. A pledge that only governs tomorrow’s deals, while yesterday’s stay secret, deserves the skeptical reception it is getting.

The lesson for founders

Here is the part that belongs on CEO Medium. Every founder runs a version of the AWS playbook. You hide the hard truths because the short-term cost of honesty feels higher than the short-term cost of silence. You delay the layoff memo, you soft-pedal the churn numbers, you keep the regulator at arm’s length. It works right up until it does not, and then the bill arrives all at once, with interest. The AI industry’s leadership clashes keep teaching the same lesson from different angles.

Garman just showed you the math from the other side. Transparency is not a brand value you post about. It is a cost you pay early or a crisis you pay for late. Amazon looked at more than 100 potential moratoriums and decided early was cheaper. The question for any founder is simpler: what is your version of the NDA, and who is about to ban it?

The companies that win the AI buildout will not be the ones that negotiated the best secret deals. They will be the ones their neighbors actually want next door. For more on leading through hard calls, browse our Leadership & Management collection.