OpenAI ends NDAs with public officials for data center projects

OpenAI announced new commitments for communities where it builds data centers, including that it will not use non-disclosure agreements with public officials. The company said it will allow only narrow protections covering legitimate security information, trade secrets, or proprietary or competitively sensitive information.

Commitments

OpenAI’s commitments apply to every future compute campus the company owns and operates. Each campus will have a local compact reflecting local priorities. The commitments include:

• Paying the full cost of electricity it uses and the infrastructure needed to serve it
• Providing financial assurances before major spending begins so other customers are protected if a project is delayed, reduced, or canceled
• Publishing expected jobs and reporting on hiring
• Disclosing construction plans, noise, water use, energy costs, and other community impacts
• Reducing electricity consumption during peak periods and returning electricity to the grid
• Prioritizing closed-loop water systems

Election context

The announcement follows this week’s midterm elections, where voters roundly rejected the rapid expansion of AI data centers. According to CNBC, out of 41 local ballot measures across 10 states, voters backed restrictions or rejected pro-development measures for all but one. Tech Insider reported that two accounts differ on the outcomes: one said voters rejected new data centers in 40 of 41 local ballot measures, while another said three measures would temporarily pause development. A social-media tally of moratoriums at 43 to 1 was not corroborated.

OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane said the policy blueprint had been in the works since August and that he met with dozens of lawmakers and candidates since then. He said OpenAI developed the commitments through discussions with residents and officials in Georgia, Ohio, Texas and other states.

"What we’re doing with this blueprint is really laying out the best lessons that we have learned and committing to applying them as they go forward," Lehane told reporters during a Wednesday briefing, according to CNBC.

"If you’re going to go into a community and you’re going to want to build in that community, you do have to do it with the community and get the community input," Lehane said.

Why it matters

The NDA pledge addresses a flashpoint in data center siting, where residents often learn about a proposed campus only after elected officials have signed agreements barring them from discussing it. OpenAI’s policy blueprint also encourages policymakers to enact similar commitments as laws, which would apply the standards industry-wide rather than only to OpenAI’s owned and operated campuses.

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Sources

• theverge.com: OpenAI is stepping back from NDAs for data center projects | The Verge
• cnbc.com: OpenAI releases new data center policy proposal after election rebuke
• tech-insider.org: OpenAI Ends Data Center NDAs After 41 Votes 2026
• timesofindia.indiatimes.com: After US voters back data center critics, OpenAI promises no secret deals with public officials; says: ‘We’ll pay the full cost of ...’ - The Times of India

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.