Mr. Garofalo is the director of state and local policy at the American Economic Liberties Project, a nonprofit organization that researches monopolies

How Amazon, Google and Other Companies Exploit NDAs

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2021-06-29 23:30:05

Mr. Garofalo is the director of state and local policy at the American Economic Liberties Project, a nonprofit organization that researches monopolies and advocates the deconcentration of power in economic markets.

In March, when the City Council of Fort Wayne, Ind., voted 7 to 2 to approve $16 million in tax breaks for a corporation to open a distribution center in the city, it was something of a shot in the dark: Four of the Council members — including two who voted in favor of the deal — didn’t know which corporation they were considering.

How was it possible that public officials lacked such crucial information? Alarmingly, as a condition of its negotiations with the city, the company had required city officials who knew its identity (including the mayor) to sign nondisclosure agreements that kept them from sharing its identity before a deal was reached.

As absurd as it may seem, it is not uncommon today for large corporations negotiating economic development deals to have public officials sign nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs. This practice needs to be stopped. By keeping salient information hidden, these NDAs impede government accountability and public involvement in economic policymaking. State and city officials should ban them.