OpenAI said this week it will not use non-disclosure agreements with public officials at future data center campuses it owns and operates, according to its announcement1, which The Verge reported on Nov. 6.
The pledge allows "only narrow protections covering legitimate security information, trade secrets, or proprietary or competitively sensitive information," OpenAI said. It is one commitment in a National Community Compact that the company published alongside a Compute Campus Policy Blueprint.
NDAs between developers and local officials have drawn scrutiny. The Verge wrote2 that the announcement followed "this week's midterms where voters resoundingly voiced their opposition to data center expansion." OpenAI's announcement does not link its commitments to the elections. The Verge also reported that Amazon said in October it would no longer use NDAs with government agencies on data center projects.
Other commitments
OpenAI said every future campus it owns and operates will have its own local compact reflecting local priorities. It said it will pay the full cost of the electricity it uses and the infrastructure needed to serve it. Before major spending begins, it will provide financial assurances so other customers are protected if a project is delayed, reduced or canceled.
The company said it will publish site-level water and electricity use, along with construction plans and independent noise studies before operations begin and annually afterward. It will also publish the jobs it expects to create and report annually on hiring and apprenticeships.
OpenAI said it will engage residents early enough for their input to shape project plans, give them a local point of contact throughout a campus's life, and report publicly each year on its performance.
The announcement gives two examples of local priorities. In Effingham County, Georgia, residents helped shape a $4.8 million grant for free school meals for all 14,000 county students. In Pike County, Ohio, families named childcare as a priority, leading to a joint $6 million commitment from OpenAI and SB Energy.
The compact covers only future campuses that OpenAI owns and operates. The announcement does not address existing sites or campuses run by others, and it describes the company's commitments as voluntary.
The policy blueprint
The blueprint is a set of proposals, not law. OpenAI said it asks federal, state and local policymakers to set clear rules, adding that "voluntary commitments from companies are an important starting point." Among its proposals are public reporting on water, energy, noise and hiring, and "narrow limits on when developers can require public officials to sign NDAs." That is a different standard from OpenAI's own pledge, which bars NDAs with officials at its campuses apart from the stated exceptions.
Earlier reporting on NDAs
In an Aug. 27 article, NPR reported3 that NDAs are common in data center deals. University of Mary Washington professor Eric Bonds and a research partner found them used in at least 25 of 31 data center projects they surveyed in Virginia the previous year. NPR said bills to ban NDAs for data centers had been introduced in Michigan, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Ohio, and that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro had recently banned their use on projects by agencies he oversees. Those details date from August, and the bills' current status is not covered in the sources reviewed.
NPR also described a June town hall in Boyce, Louisiana, where residents shouted "They signed an NDA!" over an Applied Digital Corp. project negotiated under NDAs. Officials and the company defended the practice. Applied Digital CEO Wes Cummins said securities law is the main reason, because a new campus for a publicly traded company counts as material non-public information. He also said the agreements "feel sneaky to people."