EU Designates AWS and Azure as DMA Gatekeepers

The European Commission has issued preliminary findings designating Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This decision follows a seven-month investigation conducted in cooperation with the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets, which identified both platforms as the largest cloud services in Europe with significant lock-in effects and high switching costs for users.

If the designation is finalized later this year, both providers must ban self-preferencing and ensure data portability and interoperability to reduce client switching costs. Regulators view cloud infrastructure as a cornerstone of the European economy and a prerequisite for AI. Non-compliance with these mandates could result in fines of up to 10% of a company's global annual turnover.

Amazon and Microsoft both criticized the findings. Amazon argued that the move creates overlapping regulation with the existing Data Act and risks deterring investment and innovation. Microsoft expressed concern that the Commission is underestimating the market power of Google Cloud and Gemini, claiming such an exclusion would tilt the market in a harmful way. Both companies may contest the preliminary findings before a final decision is reached.