How Big Tech wrote secrecy into EU law to hide data centres' environmental toll
by cyberlimerence on 4/17/2026, 8:32:54 AM
https://www.investigate-europe.eu/posts/big-tech-data-centres-secrecy-eu-law-environment-footprint
Comments
by: Artoooooor
Of course, transparency for thee but not for me.
4/17/2026, 12:07:32 PM
by: nDRDY
I wonder if this is less about the environmental impact (which can be greenwashed as necessary), and more about the power consumption of individual data centres.
4/17/2026, 11:42:08 AM
by: johndunne
I find this facet of Capitalism the most concerning; fiduciary responsibility to the shareholder. It breaks the link between people and matters that concern society (like the environment, in the case of this article). In the drive to increase profit, individual legislators can be convinced to tweak a law or two for 'greater economic growth' somewhere. Over the decades, the effect is a shift in political power away from the people and into industry and ultimately into the hands of a few. I've come to think that this is what we're witnessing in the US. While we're not looking, the landscape is changing behind the scenes. Bram Vranken's quote from the article is poignant: 'Who does the Commission really represent: Big Tech or the public interest?' I often wonder what can be done by us (i.e. all people) to push back and it mostly requires a lot of effort from everyone; participation in Democracy.
4/17/2026, 11:04:54 AM
by: jimnotgym
I have complete confidence the EU will realise this may violate transparency laws, it will go to court in 7-8 years, publish a response in the next 5 finally getting this law fixed in about 2040. They always get these things right, in the end
4/17/2026, 11:18:15 AM
by: _ache_
A french article on the same subject, but paywalled.<p><a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2026/04/17/comment-le-lobby-de-la-tech-a-fait-entrer-le-secret-dans-le-droit-europeen-sur-les-centres-de-donnees_6680823_4355770.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2026/04/17/comm...</a>
4/17/2026, 10:57:22 AM