EU Allows Data Centers to Keep Environmental Data Secret

A coalition of major data center operators, including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta, has successfully lobbied for a provision within a European Commission legislation to keep specific environmental impact data confidential. The amendment allows individual carbon footprints and energy metrics to be classified as commercially sensitive, significantly limiting public access to critical information regarding the ecological footprint of these facilities. Legal experts warn that this move could undermine EU transparency commitments, specifically those outlined in the Aarhus Convention.