A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds
Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds was quoted in Arizona Luminaria in an article examining the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) by public officials in data center development projects. “Part of due diligence for elected officials is to know the company so they can scrutinize how it can behave elsewhere,” said Bonds, who has written extensively on data center transparency, particularly in Virginia. Read the full story.
Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds
Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds was quoted by WFYI and The Indiana Citizen in an article titled “How confidentiality agreements around a proposed data center could impact Indianapolis’ development.” In the article, Bonds provided expert commentary on the lack of transparency in data center deals, noting that “Democracy – some say – dies in the dark. But that is exactly where many data center deals are born and live.” Read the article.
Other recent media mentions for Bonds include:
Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds
Research conducted by Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds and his students on the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements in Virginia’s data-center industry was featured in an article titled “As Trump Unwinds Federal Oversight, States Become Battlegrounds for Environmental Data.” The article appeared in the DeSmog Blog and is about the challenges that members of the public may face when seeking to obtain environmental data. Read the article.
Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds
Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds authored an article titled “For data center sustainability in Virginia, state regulation is a must” for the Chesapeake Bay Journal. An excerpt from the article says, “Spreading out from Northern Virginia, data centers are being proposed in communities across the Chesapeake Bay region. They promise big bursts of local revenue, but they also consume huge amounts of energy and can sometimes negatively impact neighborhoods and natural areas. When data centers come knocking, what should local environmentalists do?” Read the article.
Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds
Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds and UMW student Viktor Newby (majoring in sociology with a minor in digital studies) shared research and perspective on the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in data center development. The two sent Freedom of Information Act requests to every Virginia locality with a proposed or existing data center project. They found that the vast majority (25 out of 31 localities) have at least one NDA with a data center company. The story, titled “Data centers, non-disclosure agreements and democracy,” can be found via this link and on the Virginia Mercury website.