Overview
- EU competition officials issued preliminary findings recommending that Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure be designated as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act, placing the cloud units under strict ex ante rules.
- The proposed obligations would limit self‑preferencing, require interoperability between services, and mandate data portability so customers face lower switching costs and less vendor lock‑in.
- Brussels based its assessment on the providers’ large turnover, greater operational capacity, entrenched user bases, high switching costs and the role of their AI tools and partnerships in procurement decisions.
- Both companies publicly contested the assessment with AWS warning it could deter investment and innovation and Microsoft flagging the rising market power of rival Google Cloud and its Gemini AI.
- AWS and Microsoft can submit formal responses to the Commission’s preliminary findings before a final decision expected in the coming months, a process that could affect contracts, egress charges and cloud competition across Europe.