The European Commission has taken a step to rein in Big Tech’s dominance over the internet’s infrastructure. The EU executive announced its preliminary view that Amazon’s and Microsoft’s market-leading cloud platforms—Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure—should be designated as “gatekeepers” under the landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The findings signal Europe’s intent to aggressively police the infrastructure powering modern industry and the explosive artificial intelligence boom.
Overcoming the Numbers: The “Gateway” Effect
Under the DMA framework, companies are typically designated as gatekeepers automatically if they meet rigid quantitative thresholds. However, the Commission bypassed these mechanical benchmarks for cloud services. The EU noted that despite “not meeting the DMA’s quantitative thresholds for designation,” both platforms undeniably act as a vital bridge in the digital economy:
“In both cases, the Commission preliminarily finds that AWS and Azure, the largest and second largest cloud computing services in the EU respectively, are an important gateway between businesses and their customers in the EU.”
Amazon and Microsoft are already designated gatekeepers for consumer-facing services like operating systems and retail marketplaces. However, pulling cloud infrastructure into the fold represents a massive escalation. According to the EU, both tech giants possess vast ecosystems and unmatched operational capacities:
“They both have vast and entrenched user bases and appear to benefit from lock-in effects and high switching costs, in addition to a large ecosystem.”
AI Partnerships as an Anti-Competitive Moat
A driving force behind the Commission’s urgency is the massive surge in AI demand. Because modern AI models require immense computational power, cloud platforms have become the gatekeepers of innovation. The EU’s preliminary view highlights that AWS and Azure are using their dominance to absorb the market’s growth:
“Whilst AI is significantly increasing the demand for cloud-related services, AWS and Azure appear to retain a large proportion of this increased demand within their respective ecosystems.”
The Commission emphasizes that cloud computing has evolved into a utility critical to the continent’s strategic autonomy:
“To foster innovation, and Europe’s strategic autonomy, cloud computing services must be provided in a fair, open and competitive environment.”
What Comes Next?
EU officials explicitly stated that these preliminary findings “do not prejudge the outcome of an investigation.” Both Amazon and Microsoft will now exercise their rights of defense, examine the file, and reply in writing.
However, if Brussels cements this position into a final decision, the clock starts ticking. Both companies will have a strict six-month window “to ensure full compliance of their designated cloud computing services with the DMA’s obligations.”
