European Commission casts Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services as the new 'gatekeepers' of the digital economy
NewsThursday, 25 June 2026 at 16:55
The European Commission has taken a preliminary view that Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) should be designated as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). It’s the first time Brussels moves to extend its Big Tech rulebook into the cloud—now the backbone of AI, digital services, and enterprise software. According to the European Commission and the Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM), both platforms act as critical gateways between businesses and their customers.
The preliminary conclusion follows a seven-month joint investigation by the Commission and the ACM. Microsoft and Amazon will now have a chance to respond before Brussels issues a final decision later this year. If confirmed, the companies will have six months to bring their cloud platforms into line with DMA rules.
Why Azure and AWS are being pulled under the DMA
Until now, the DMA mainly targeted search engines, app stores, social networks, and online marketplaces. Cloud platforms were not included. The Commission says that’s no longer tenable.
A growing number of European companies run their entire IT stack, data storage, and AI workloads on Microsoft and Amazon’s clouds. Brussels argues this makes switching to rivals increasingly difficult.
The joint probe found that Azure and AWS benefit from:
- very high switching costs for customers;
- strong lock-in effects due to tightly integrated services;
- massive investments in AI infrastructure;
- a dominant position across European cloud environments.
EU Commissioner Henna Virkkunen calls cloud platforms “a cornerstone of the European economy—and a prerequisite for AI.” The Commission says these markets must remain fair, open, and competitive.
What changes if the designation becomes official
A formal DMA designation would impose new obligations on Microsoft and Amazon.
Among them, they would have to:
- make it easier for customers to switch to other cloud providers;
- facilitate data portability across different cloud platforms;
- improve interoperability;
- avoid unfair self-preferencing of their own services.
The goal is to cut dependence on a single cloud vendor and give rivals more room to grow. The ACM notes that limited switching options have long been a key problem in the cloud market.
AI is the accelerant
Notably, the Commission explicitly factors AI into its analysis.
More and more generative AI models run on the same hyperscale cloud platforms. Microsoft provides infrastructure for OpenAI services via Azure, while AWS plays a central role for models from Anthropic and other developers.
The Commission argues these AI investments reinforce the existing market power of both cloud giants—turning cloud infrastructure into a cornerstone not just for compute and storage, but for the future AI economy.
Amazon and Microsoft push back
Both companies are critical of the preliminary view.
Amazon says the Commission underestimates competition in cloud and warns that extra rules could chill investment and innovation in Europe. AWS also argues that the EU’s Data Act already imposes extensive obligations.
Microsoft takes a different tack, saying it’s concerned the Commission isn’t sufficiently weighing Google Cloud’s growing position—risking a skewed playing field in cloud.
A strategic move toward digital autonomy
This is more than another competition case. Brussels increasingly views cloud as strategic digital infrastructure—on par with app stores and search.
It aligns with Europe’s broader push to reduce dependence on U.S. tech giants. Cloud underpins nearly every modern digital service, from AI models and government platforms to healthcare, finance, and industrial automation.
By bringing hyperscale clouds under the DMA, the Commission aims to prevent the next wave of AI and digital infrastructure from becoming locked to a handful of dominant players.
If the preliminary stance is finalized, it would mark the first time cloud computing falls squarely under the EU’s toughest Big Tech competition rules—another significant step in extending the DMA to the infrastructure powering Europe’s AI-driven economy.
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