The House Judiciary Committee has asked Amazon and other tech giants to disclose any confidentiality agreements they made with government officials. The inquiry aims to make the approval process for large-scale data center projects more transparent.
Lawmakers are concerned about the effects of massive data centers on local communities, including electricity prices and water resources. They argue that non-disclosure agreements hinder public accountability.
The expanding review could create regulatory headwinds for Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s rapidly growing cloud computing division and a primary driver of its profitability.