{
"title": "EU Commission Proposes AWS and Azure as DMA Gatekeepers, Reshaping Cloud AI Landscape",
"content": "Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure should be regulated as gatekeepers under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), the European Commission said on June 25, 2026, signaling a dramatic shift in how the bloc oversees cloud computing and artificial intelligence markets. The preliminary finding comes after an extensive investigation into cloud services, with a focus on the provision of AI infrastructure and platforms. If finalized, the designation would impose a host of new obligations on the two U.S. tech giants, forcing them to open up their ecosystems and change longstanding practices.
The Commission’s statement marks the first time cloud infrastructure providers have been targeted under the DMA, a landmark regulation designed to curb the power of dominant digital platforms. While the DMA has already swept up giants like Alphabet, Apple, Meta, and ByteDance for their search, social media, and advertising services, extending its reach to the cloud is a significant escalation. Both AWS and Azure operate massive data center networks across Europe and provide essential computing power for countless businesses, from startups to multinational corporations. Their role in hosting and serving AI models—from training large language models to running inference at scale—puts them at the center of an increasingly critical digital economy.
A cloud-market investigation, launched by the Commission in early 2025, examined whether the two companies meet the DMA’s strict gatekeeper criteria. Those criteria include a strong economic position with significant impact on the internal market