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Judge Lee Rudofsky Denies Entergy Arkansas Request to Block News Publication on Google Data Center Deal

A federal judge in Arkansas denied a request by Entergy Arkansas to temporarily block the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette from publishing details regarding a power supply agreement with Google. The company sued the newspaper and the Arkansas Times, alleging that the documents revealed trade secrets and were disclosed in error by the Arkansas Public Service Commission. Judge Lee Rudofsky ruled that the First Amendment makes it difficult to justify prior restraint, noting that the details of the utility's arrangement with a large data center are matters of significant public concern. The utility argued that the newspaper's initial report of a $526 million contribution from Google was a mathematical error, as it accounted for only 12 months of payments rather than the full 20-year term. Entergy Arkansas stated that the total payment will be approximately $2.103 billion, ensuring Google covers 100% of its power needs. Google issued a statement confirming it is committed to covering 100% of the infrastructure costs for its West Memphis data center. A spokesperson for Google noted that the project is projected to deliver more than $1.1 billion in net benefits to Arkansas residents.

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