en.Wedoany.com Reported - The EU's antitrust regulator has stated that, under landmark technology rules, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure should be designated as 'gatekeepers,' a move that would subject the world's two largest cloud service providers to strict obligations to curb their market power.
Under this designation under the Digital Markets Act, a series of obligations and prohibitions would be imposed on AWS and Microsoft Azure, including restrictions on self-preferencing, and requirements to ensure interoperability and data portability. To date, EU regulators have primarily targeted core platform services such as search, social media, and app stores to rein in big tech companies. Extending the Digital Markets Act to cloud infrastructure would mark a significant expansion into a sector deemed critical for artificial intelligence.
These preliminary findings follow a seven-month investigation. "Cloud services have become the cornerstone of the European economy—and a prerequisite for artificial intelligence—with over half of EU businesses now relying on cloud services, alongside record investments in public cloud infrastructure," said Henna Virkkunen, the EU's tech chief, in a statement. "Given their central role in Europe's digital future, these services must operate in a fair, open, and competitive market to foster trust and safeguard Europe's technological sovereignty."
Amazon stated that the assessment overlooks the breadth of cloud services available to European customers and risks hindering European investment and innovation. "The EU has already comprehensively regulated cloud services under the Data Act, and adding an overlapping layer of regulation under the Digital Markets Act would weaken Europe's competitiveness and hinder access to cutting-edge information technology," an AWS spokesperson said. Microsoft, meanwhile, pointed to the growing strength of its rival Google. "We remain concerned that ignoring the growing strength of Google Cloud and Gemini will distort the market in a harmful way," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
The European Commission specifically noted that the turnover, operational capacity, and investment of AWS and Microsoft Azure are significantly higher than those of competitors, with large and entrenched user bases, lock-in effects, and high switching costs. The EU competition enforcer also mentioned that the AI tools and partnerships of these two services are decisive factors in cloud procurement. Amazon and Microsoft can now seek to rebut the Commission's preliminary findings, with regulators set to make a final decision in the coming months.
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