EU Targets AWS And Azure For Cloud Gatekeeper Rules

EU Regulators Move Cloud Into The DMA Frame

EU antitrust regulators said Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure should be designated as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act, extending Europe's Big Tech rulebook from consumer platforms toward cloud infrastructure.

The preliminary findings would put the cloud units of Amazon and Microsoft under obligations meant to curb market power in services that companies increasingly use for AI and digital operations.

The proposed designation shifts the DMA debate away from search, social media and app stores.

EU officials are now testing whether cloud infrastructure has become a control point for business software, data movement and AI procurement.

Until now, the EU's core-platform enforcement has concentrated on services that sit directly in front of consumers or developers.

Cloud rules would reach deeper into the enterprise stack, where the choice of provider affects where data sits, which AI tools are available and how easily a company can move workloads between systems, especially when high switching costs keep customers tied to existing deployments.

The Commission said the designation would bring obligations and bans for AWS and Azure.

The list includes limits on self-preferencing and requirements tied to interoperability and data portability, two issues that enterprise customers watch closely when they decide whether a cloud contract can be moved or connected to rival systems.

AWS And Azure Face Switching-Cost Scrutiny

EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen framed cloud as basic economic infrastructure for Europe and as a condition for AI deployment.

She said over half of EU businesses now rely on these services, while public cloud infrastructure is drawing record investment.European cloud groups said fair and open cloud markets are linked to trust and Europe's technology sovereignty.

The Commission's case against AWS and Azure rests on scale as well as customer dependence.

Regulators cited significant turnover, larger operational capacity and investments than rivals, entrenched user bases, lock-in effects and high switching costs.

They also said AI tools and partnerships can influence cloud procurement, making the cloud decision part of the AI supply chain rather than only an IT hosting contract.

Amazon disputed the assessment.

An AWS spokesperson pointed to the EU Data Act as existing cloud regulation and said adding DMA obligations would create an overlapping layer that could weaken European competitiveness and limit access to advanced information technology.

Microsoft's response focused on Google.

A Microsoft spokesperson said ignoring the growing power of Google Cloud and Gemini would tilt the market in a harmful way, arguing that the Commission's approach risks treating the competitive landscape too narrowly.

Final Decision Still Has To Land

The findings follow a seven-month investigation and are still preliminary.

Amazon and Microsoft can seek to counter the Commission's view before regulators issue a final decision in the coming months.

The Commission has not issued the final gatekeeper decision, named the exact obligations AWS or Azure would face, set a compliance timetable or published the cloud-market evidence it will use to complete the DMA assessment.