OpenAI on Thursday, Nov. 5, published a National Community Compact and a policy blueprint for future compute campuses, according to its Community Compact PDF and reporting by CNBC, Reuters and The Verge. OpenAI also published a companion web post, “Setting a new standard for responsible AI infrastructure”; the Compact PDF was treated as the primary text.
For campuses OpenAI owns and operates, the Compact says the company “will not require public officials to sign NDAs as a condition for discussion or negotiation.” It allows “only narrow protections covering legitimate security information, trade secrets, or proprietary or competitively sensitive information.” The Verge noted that Amazon said in October it would no longer use NDAs with government agencies on data center projects.
On power costs, OpenAI says it “will pay the full cost of powering our compute campuses” and “the incremental costs of the infrastructure required to serve our sites and the full cost of the electricity we use,” citing its Ratepayer Protection Pledge. The Compact also commits OpenAI to publish site-specific construction plans on temporary effects on traffic, noise and lighting, and to publish community-impact information including noise, energy use, water use and sustainability. Independent noise studies are to run before operations begin and annually afterward, with results published. New campuses will report water use by location and describe cooling practices.
CNBC said OpenAI reaffirmed the power pledge as part of commitments for company-owned and -operated data centers, and that a companion policy blueprint urges lawmakers to enact similar rules. Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane told reporters the blueprint has been in the works since August, CNBC and Reuters reported.
The release comes two days after midterm votes that went heavily against data centers. Of 41 related ballot measures, all but one went against them, Ballotpedia found, according to CNBC and Reuters. AI Tech Daily covered that data-center pressure and OpenAI’s post-midterm policy push.
Sources
- OpenAI: National Community Compact PDF (November 5, 2026)
- OpenAI: Setting a new standard for responsible AI infrastructure (November 5, 2026)
- CNBC: OpenAI pledges to halt NDAs in new data center policy proposal after election rebuke, by Ashley Capoot (November 5, 2026)
- Reuters via Investing.com: OpenAI kicks off charm offensive to change voters view of data centers, by Deepa Seetharaman (November 5, 2026)
- The Verge: OpenAI is stepping back from NDAs for data center projects, by Jay Peters (November 6, 2026)
- AI Tech Daily: OpenAI plans to push mandatory speed limits on powerful AI and state data center laws after the midterms, Axios reports (November 3, 2026)
- AI Tech Daily: Data center opponents emerge as big midterm winners in Texas and Georgia, Reuters reports (November 4, 2026)