US tech firms successfully lobbied EU to keep datacentre emissions secret
Summary
US tech companies, including Microsoft, successfully influenced the European Union to keep information about datacentre emissions secret. This decision prevents the public from seeing pollution details from individual datacentres, allowing only country-level data to be shared.Key Facts
- Microsoft and other US tech firms lobbied the EU to block public access to environmental data on datacentres.
- The European Commission included a confidentiality rule in its 2024 proposal, closely matching the tech industry's wording.
- This secrecy stops detailed pollution monitoring at the individual datacentre level, limiting transparency.
- Datacentres use a lot of energy, partly from burning fossil gas, to support AI technology growth.
- The EU plans to triple datacentre capacity to strengthen its position in artificial intelligence.
- Tech companies argued data must remain secret for commercial reasons during 2024 public consultations.
- The rule prevents freedom of information requests for detailed datacentre emissions data.
- Groups involved in lobbying include Microsoft, DigitalEurope (members like Google, Amazon, Meta), and Video Games Europe (includes Netflix).
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