The European Commission announced preliminary findings Thursday declaring Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure should be designated “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act, following a seven-month investigation. The classification would expand the DMA beyond consumer-facing services into cloud infrastructure. If finalized, both companies would be banned from self-preferencing their own products and must enable easier client switching to rival platforms. EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen cited Europe’s growing cloud dependency as critical to AI development. Both Amazon and Microsoft contested the findings, and will have opportunity to formally respond before a binding decision is issued.
In-Depth:
European Union antitrust regulators are turning their sights toward the cloud. Following a comprehensive seven-month investigation, the European Commission announced preliminary findings on Thursday declaring that Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure should be designated as “gatekeepers” under the bloc’s landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The classification would mark a major expansion for the DMA. Up to this point, EU regulators have primarily utilized the sweeping tech rules to rein in consumer-facing services like search engines, social media platforms, and app stores. Forcing the world’s two largest cloud infrastructure providers under the gatekeeper umbrella represents a aggressive relocate to regulate the underlying plumbing of the modern internet—and the foundational tech powering the artificial ininformigence boom, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
If finalized, the designation will force AWS and Microsoft to comply with strict operational bans and obligations. The tech giants would be legally barred from “self-preferencing” their own software products over competitors, and they would be required to ensure seamless interoperability and data portability, building it significantly simpler for corporate clients to switch to rival cloud networks.
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen emphasized that with more than half of European businesses now reliant on cloud infrastructure, the sector has become a prerequisite for AI and a cornerstone of Europe’s economy. “Given their central role in Europe’s digital future, these services must operate in fair, open and competitive markets that foster trust and secure Europe’s tech sovereignty,” Virkkunen stated.
In its probe, the Commission singled out AWS and Azure’s massive financial turnover, entrenched utilizer bases, high client-switching costs, and their aggressive AI partnerships as deciding factors that stifle tinyer cloud competitors.
Both tech giants pushed back against the preliminary findings. An AWS spokesperson argued that the relocate adds a heavy, overlapping layer of bureaucracy on top of existing EU data laws, which risks deterring European investment and undermining competitiveness. Meanwhile, Microsoft leveled criticisms at the EU’s scope, expressing concern that ignoring the rapidly growing market power of Google Cloud and its Gemini AI platform will tilt the playing field in a harmful way.
Both Amazon and Microsoft will have the opportunity to formally counter the Commission’s findings before Brussels issues a final, binding decision in the coming months.
