MEPs demand Commission scrap ‘unlawful’ secrecy on data centre environmental footprint 20 May 2026 Ella Joyner Nico Schmidt Credit: Spoovio MEPs demand Commission scrap ‘unlawful’ secrecy on data centre environmental footprint Credit: Spoovio Ella Joyner Nico Schmidt 20 May 2026 EN Lawmakers call for data centre transparency after Investigate Europe revelations of Big Tech lobbying campaign Thirty-five members of the European Parliament have urged the European Commission to scrap an “unlawful” confidentiality clause which hides the environmental impact of individual data centres in the wake of an investigation led by Investigate Europe. In a letter sent on Tuesday citing the revelations, MEPs from across Europe, including Germany's Alexandra Geese and Lynn Boylan from Ireland, denounced the Commission for bowing to industry lobbying. They accuse the Commission of breaching public access to information rules by amending a law intended to bring transparency to a rapidly expanding sector. The piece of 2024 legislation requires large data centre operators to report key data like energy and water use, but after successful pushback by Microsoft and other tech giants, information on specific facilities is kept confidential. Tech companies have claimed this protects commercial business interests, while elected officials argue that risks violating agreements by keeping environmental data in the dark. “Given that the Commission intends to triple its data centre capacity within the next five years, it is extremely worrying that vital information regarding the environmental impact of data centres is being withheld from the public,” the signatories wrote. MEPs cited the reasoning of 10 legal experts who told Investigate Europe the secrecy clause likely breaches the Aarhus Convention and laws on access to information. As such, they condemned the provision as “unlawful” in an accompanying email. The letter also referenced an internal Commission email, obtained by Investigate Europe, in which a senior official