On June 25, 2026, the European Commission delivered a seismic regulatory alert to Amazon and Microsoft, informing both tech giants that its preliminary view is that Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure should be designated as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for cloud computing services. The move, if finalized, would impose sweeping new obligations aimed at fostering competition and curbing what regulators see as entrenched dominance in the European cloud market.

The announcement marks a significant escalation in the EU's effort to regulate the digital economy and could fundamentally alter how the world's two largest cloud providers operate across the 27-nation bloc. While the DMA has already ensnared companies like Google, Apple, Meta, and ByteDance for other core platform services—including search, social media, and messaging—this would be the first time that cloud infrastructure and platform services fall directly under the gatekeeper regime.

The Digital Markets Act and the Gatekeeper Threshold

The DMA, which entered fully into force in May 2023, is designed to ensure contestability and fairness in digital markets by imposing a set of strict do's and don'ts on the most powerful platforms. To be designated as a gatekeeper, a company must meet certain quantitative criteria: an annual turnover in the European Economic Area of at least €7.5 billion in each of the last three financial years, a market capitalization of at least €75 billion in the last financial year, and a core platform service with at least 45 million monthly active end users and 10,000 yearly active business users in the EU.

However, the DMA also allows the Commission to designate a company even if it does not meet all the quantitative thresholds, based on a qualitative assessment of its market position, the importance of its service for business users to reach end users, and the durability of its position. This qualitative route is likely being applied in the case of AWS and Azure, as cloud computing services are primarily business-to-business and the user metrics are different from consumer platforms.

The Commission can open a market investigation to assess whether a company should be designated. In the case of AWS and Azure, the preliminary view suggests that the investigation has reached a stage where the Commission believes the criteria are met. The DMA has already been applied to Alphabet (Google), Apple, Meta, Amazon (for its marketplace and advertising), ByteDance (TikTok), and Microsoft (for Windows and LinkedIn). The designation of cloud services as a separate core platform service would be a significant expansion of the law's scope.

Why AWS and Azure? The Cloud Dominance Debate

Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure together command a substantial share of the European cloud infrastructure market. While exact figures fluctuate, industry analysts consistently place AWS at roughly 30-35% and Azure at 20-25% of the market in Europe, with Google Cloud a distant third at around 10%. More critically, these two players often have an even higher share in specific segments such as large enterprise contracts, public sector cloud adoption, and, increasingly, AI infrastructure provisioning.

European businesses—from startups to multinationals—have come to rely heavily on AWS and Azure for their digital operations. This dependency has raised alarms among competitors and regulators about so-called \"cloud lock-in.\" Practices such as high data egress fees, specialized proprietary services and APIs, and a lack of interoperability between clouds make it difficult and expensive for customers to switch providers or adopt multi-cloud strategies. The DMA explicitly identifies such lock-in as a potential harm to contestability.

Moreover, the gatekeeper investigation arrives at a moment when both AWS and Azure are aggressively expanding their artificial intelligence offerings. Azure's exclusive partnership with OpenAI and its integration of GPT models into enterprise tools, and AWS's Bedrock and SageMaker services, position the two companies as indispensable pipelines for AI innovation. The Commission is likely concerned that control over essential AI infrastructure—from vast GPU clusters to model access—could further entrench their gatekeeper status, creating a new frontier of digital dependency.

What Gatekeeper Designation Would Mean

If AWS and Azure are formally designated as gatekeepers for cloud computing, they would have to comply with a comprehensive list of obligations set out in Articles 5, 6, and 7 of the DMA. These are intended to open up their platforms and give business users more freedom and choice. Key obligations would include:

  • Interoperability mandates: Cloud platforms would be required to provide access to their infrastructure and services in ways that allow third-party cloud services to interoperate effectively. This could mean standardized APIs, open-source references, or technical documentation that lets business users link multiple clouds without friction.
  • Data portability: Business customers must be able to port their data, applications, and configurations to other providers easily. The DMA demands real-time data portability and continuous access. For a cloud platform, this could mandate tools that automate workload migration.
  • No self-preferencing: Cloud providers would be prohibited from giving their own services—such as databases, analytics tools, or AI services—preferential ranking, placement, or integration that disadvantages third-party competitors.
  • Fair access to software ecosystems: The operating systems or app stores of the cloud platforms (think Azure's marketplace or AWS Marketplace) might need to allow alternative billing systems, prevent mandatory bundling, and ensure fair visibility for rivals.
  • Ban on certain anti-steering clauses: Business users must be allowed to communicate with their customers outside the platform and negotiate better terms, which could impact how cloud contracts are structured.
  • Prohibition of using business user data to compete: The gatekeeper cannot use data generated by business users on their platform to compete against them, a key point given both AWS and Azure offer services that compete with their own customers’ offerings.

Crucially, the DMA also mandates that gatekeepers cannot combine personal data across services without consent, which could affect how cloud providers integrate their consumer services with cloud platforms.

Compliance would be enforced with fines of up to 10% of worldwide annual turnover for non-compliance, and up to 20% for repeated infringements. The Commission can also impose structural remedies in extreme cases, although breaking up companies is considered a last resort.

The Road Ahead: Preliminary View and Defense

The European Commission's statement on June 25 represents a \"preliminary view,\" meaning it is not yet a final decision. Both Amazon and Microsoft will now have the opportunity to respond in writing, request access to the file, and present their arguments at an oral hearing. They can contest the findings, argue that the market is sufficiently competitive, or propose commitments to address the Commission's concerns.

Under the DMA's procedures, the Commission must adopt a final decision within a reasonable timeframe from the opening of the market investigation, typically up to 12 months. However, an extension is possible if the case is complex. Once designated, the companies would have six months to comply with the obligations, though they can request a suspension during an appeal to the General Court of the European Union.

Both companies are expected to mount a vigorous defense. Amazon and Microsoft have long argued that the cloud market is highly dynamic and competitive, pointing to the growth of Google Cloud, Oracle, and smaller European providers. They also emphasize the massive investments they make in infrastructure and innovation, which they claim could be threatened by overregulation. Spokespersons for Amazon and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Industry Reactions and Ripple Effects

The preliminary view has already sent ripples through the tech industry. European cloud providers, such as France’s OVHcloud and Germany’s SAP, have lobbied heavily for such a move. They argue that current market conditions make it nearly impossible to compete against the hyperscalers. A CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe) study frequently cited in these debates claims that egress fees alone cost European businesses billions annually and stifle the development of a genuine European cloud ecosystem.

If the gatekeeper designation sticks, we could see a rapid reshaping of the cloud landscape. Multicloud architectures would become simpler and cheaper, potentially benefiting mid-tier clouds and specialized AI compute providers. Enterprises could gain more leverage in contract negotiations, and lock-in fears might recede, encouraging more adventurous digital transformation strategies.

On the other hand, critics of the DMA caution that heavy-handed rules could slow down innovation and increase compliance costs, which might ultimately be passed on to customers. There’s also the risk that competitors outside the EU—especially American and Chinese clouds—might gain an advantage if European regulations make it harder for AWS and Azure to compete globally, though the DMA applies extraterritorially to services provided to EU users.

The AI Inflection Point

The DMA cloud probe dovetails with separate EU actions under the AI Act, which places obligations on high-risk AI systems and foundation models. AWS and Azure are not just cloud providers; they are gateways to AI. Through Azure, Microsoft offers exclusive access to OpenAI’s GPTo models and Copilot integrations, while AWS provides Bedrock, a managed service that offers foundation models from multiple providers. Both control massive compute resources that are essential for training and deploying large-scale AI.

Regulators are increasingly worried that cloud tie-ups with leading AI labs could create a new kind of lock-in. If businesses must use a specific cloud to access the most capable AI models, that strengthens the cloud provider’s hand. A DMA gatekeeper designation could require that such AI services be offered in a more neutral fashion, perhaps through open APIs that run on any infrastructure, or at least that customers can seamlessly move from one cloud to another with their AI workloads.

The intersection of cloud regulation and AI governance is a new frontier, and the AWS/Azure case is likely to set critical precedents for how digital markets can remain open in the age of artificial intelligence. For European AI startups, a gatekeeper designation could level the playing field by ensuring that they are not unduly dependent on a single cloud provider for both training and deployment of models.

A New Regulatory Chapter for Global Cloud

The European Commission’s preliminary view that AWS and Azure should be gatekeepers is a watershed moment for the tech industry. It signals that even business-to-business infrastructure services are now squarely in the crosshairs of antitrust enforcers. For Microsoft, already grappling with the DMA’s impact on Windows and LinkedIn, the cloud designation would add another layer of compliance complexity. For Amazon, it bites into its most profitable corner of the business.

As the investigation proceeds, all eyes will be on Brussels to see whether the arguments of the two American giants can sway the Commission, or whether a new era of regulated cloud begins. Either way, the case will have lasting implications for how cloud and AI infrastructure are built, sold, and governed worldwide. Other jurisdictions, from the UK to Japan, are watching closely, and a robust EU framework could inspire copycat regulation.

What is certain is that the comfortable days of seamless global cloud expansion without regulatory friction are fading. For business users and consumers of cloud services, the promise is a more open and competitive market. For AWS and Azure, it’s a call to adapt—or face the fines.