EU targets AWS and Azure in cloud gatekeeper push

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TL;DR:

EU regulators want to classify Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure as DMA “gatekeepers,” arguing cloud infrastructure is now critical to Europe’s economy and AI future. The move could force tougher rules on interoperability, data portability and switching, but Amazon and Microsoft warn it may add overlapping regulation.

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The European Commission has preliminarily concluded that Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure should be designated “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act, a move that would pull cloud computing into the EU’s toughest Big Tech competition regime. The decision matters because cloud is now the operating layer for enterprise software, public services and AI deployment.

Brussels said AWS and Azure are the EU’s largest and second-largest cloud services, and act as important gateways between businesses and customers even though they do not meet the DMA’s usual quantitative thresholds. If confirmed, the designation could impose obligations around interoperability, data portability and limits on self-preferencing.

EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen framed the issue bluntly: “Cloud services have become a cornerstone of Europe’s economy – and a prerequisite for AI.” The Commission also said more than half of EU businesses now rely on cloud services, making the market too central to treat as back-office plumbing.

The push follows a seven-month investigation and reflects a broader EU view that AI demand may deepen dependence on dominant cloud ecosystems. Regulators cited entrenched user bases, high switching costs, operational scale and AI partnerships as factors that could lock customers into AWS and Azure.

The companies are pushing back. An AWS spokesperson said adding DMA rules would create “another heavy layer of overlapping regulation,” while Microsoft warned that ignoring Google Cloud and Gemini could distort the market.

Amazon and Microsoft can respond before final decisions are issued. For cloud customers, the key question is whether EU intervention lowers switching friction or simply adds another compliance layer to an already concentrated market.