US tech companies successfully convinced the European Union to keep environmental data from individual datacenters hidden from the public. Ajit Niranjan reports for The Guardian that Microsoft, alongside industry groups DigitalEurope and Video Games Europe, lobbied EU officials to classify all datacenter performance indicators as confidential commercial information.
The lobbying effort was strikingly effective. The final regulatory text differs by just a few words from the industry’s own demands. As a result, neither journalists nor researchers can access individual datacenter emissions data, even through freedom of information requests.
Legal experts warn the confidentiality clause may violate EU transparency law and the Aarhus Convention, which guarantees public access to environmental information. Luc Lavrysen, former president of the Belgian constitutional court, says the clause “is clearly in violation” of both frameworks. Jerzy Jendrośka, who spent 19 years overseeing the convention, adds: “In two decades, I cannot recall a comparable case.”
The stakes are significant. AI-driven demand for computing power is fuelling a rapid expansion of datacenters across Europe, many of which rely on fossil gas. The EU aims to triple datacenter capacity within five to seven years.
A commission official has already directed national authorities to refuse all public requests for individual datacenter data. Only aggregated national figures remain available to researchers.
Microsoft stated it supports greater transparency while protecting confidential business information.
Stay up to date
AI for content creation: the latest tools, tips and trends. Every two weeks in your inbox:
