In recent weeks, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have adopted increasingly tough rhetoric against data centers, promising to crack down on hundreds of facilities that failed to disclose required information about their water use over the past five years.

But the law that Texas political leaders are invoking carries a maximum fine of just $500 - a potentially negligible penalty that's just a blip for large companies.

Data centers use millions of gallons of water a year to run their facilities and cool their servers.