Microsoft helped write data centre emissions secrecy into EU law, investigation finds

Microsoft and lobby group DigitalEurope lobbied to keep data centre emissions data secret from the public – and succeeded, according to an investigation by Investigate Europe published with the Guardian, Le Monde, El País and several other media outlets.

Microsoft and DigitalEurope, whose members include Amazon, Google, and Meta, managed to cover up emissions from its data centres by proposing a confidentiality clause during the drafting of the EU's 2024 Energy Efficiency Directive.