EU sidesteps size tests to place Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure under digital gatekeeper rules

The preliminary finding

The European Commission announced on June 25 that it takes the preliminary view that Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure should be designated gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act. The finding follows a seven-month investigation. Neither service meets the DMA's quantitative thresholds for automatic designation, so the Commission has used a qualitative route, arguing the two cloud providers are an "important gateway" between businesses and end-users in the EU.

In Europe, we are increasingly reliant on cloud computing services — from consumers to large and small businesses and public administrations. The importance of these services will only continue to grow, which is why it is essential to ensure a well-functioning and competitive market and a level playing field for all cloud service providers.

Why the DMA matters

If the preliminary view becomes final, AWS and Azure would face the DMA's list of obligations: no self-preferencing, mandated interoperability, and rules on data portability designed to make switching providers less punishing. Companies that breach the rules can be fined up to 10 percent of their global turnover, rising to 20 percent for repeat offences. The Commission's decision follows a seven-month examination of the cloud market, where AWS, Google and Microsoft together control roughly 70 percent of European cloud spending.

AI intensifies the stakes

Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen put the AI dimension on the record, saying cloud had become a prerequisite for artificial intelligence. More than half of EU businesses now rely on cloud services, and regulators worry that AWS and Azure are capturing the new AI-driven demand inside their own ecosystems, reinforcing vendor lock-in.

Cloud services have become a prerequisite for AI, with more than half of EU businesses now relying on these services.

Industry and political pushback

Amazon said the preliminary assessment disregards the breadth of cloud services available to European customers and could deter European investment and innovation. Microsoft argued that leaving out Google Cloud and its Gemini AI product risks tilting the market. The announcement also arrives at a tense moment: the Trump administration has repeatedly framed European tech regulation as an attack on American companies.

The Commission's preliminary findings disregard the breadth of cloud services available to European customers and risk deterring European investment and innovation.

We remain concerned that ignoring the growing power of Google Cloud and Gemini will tilt the market in a harmful way.

Economist Cristina Caffarra dismissed the step as routine drama, saying none of the DMA gatekeeper cases had produced meaningful benefits for European tech.

It is the usual regulation theatre … None of the cases against gatekeepers under the DMA have yielded even a fraction of useful results to help Europe and European tech.

What comes next

Both companies now have the opportunity to respond before the Commission takes a final decision, expected by December 2026. Separately, the Commission is running a third procedure to determine whether the DMA checklist (largely designed for consumer-facing services) is fit for cloud computing. Recommendations from that review are due by May 2027.