'It was really a breach of trust': Commissioner regrets signing NDA for data center, supports ban

Push to ban local MN governments from signing NDA

There is a push at the Minnesota State Capitol to ban local governments from being able to sign non-disclosure agreements. FOX 9's Mike Manzoni has more. 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Activists are urging lawmakers to ban non-disclosure agreements between local governments and tech companies, a practice that is sometimes used to shield the public from information when data centers are in development.

Commissioner regrets signing NDA, urges statewide ban

What we know:

Activists gathered at the state capitol on Wednesday to support a bill that would ban local governments from signing non-disclosure agreements. These agreements are often used when tech companies develop data centers.

What they're saying:

St. Louis County Commissioner Annie Harala expressed regret over signing an NDA without knowing that it was for a Google data center project in Hermantown. She now supports a ban.

"It was really a breach of trust for my community that I would sign something like that," she said. "It’s a big swing to go from having signed one and now regretting that I signed one because of the trust that I lost. I think one of the biggest things we need to do is learn...."

Others who support the bill to ban non-disclosure agreements said it does not go far enough.

"We need a moratorium [on data centers] in the state of Minnesota," said Rebecca Gilbertson of Hermantown.

What’s the purpose NDAs:

Aaron Klemz, the strategy officer at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, a nonprofit which has sued cities and towns over data centers, explained that NDAs can obscure the details of proposed projects and their ownership.

"Sometimes they conceal the nature – first of all, the nature of what’s being proposed, who’s proposing it, and who would own it," he said. "You hear from developers that they need these non-disclosure agreements for early-stage conversations to kind of make sure that they don’t have properties snapped up...."

The other side:

In a statement on Wednesday, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, which plans to open a data center in Rosemount, said, in part: "Maintaining confidentiality during project development increases efficiency and speed by enabling all stakeholders to remain focused on the needs of the project."

Google, which is developing data centers in Hermantown and Pine Island, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.