The European Union has opened a new chapter in its effort to keep its digital economy competitive, launching three investigations into the cloud computing operations of Amazon and Microsoft. The move signals a widening European concern that the cloud sector may be tilting too far toward a handful of U.S. giants.
The probes, unveiled this week by the European Commission, focus on whether Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure should be designated as gatekeepers under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). That label carries major obligations: companies must interoperate with rivals and avoid anti-competitive behavior, and can face hefty penalties if they violate the rules.
Notably, the DMA sets quantitative thresholds for designation, meaning that a vendor must be at a very high level of importance to the EU economy. But the Commission made clear it is willing to assign gatekeeper status even if those thresholds are not met when a service appears to function as a critical bottleneck, as is likely case with the powerful U.S. hyperscalers.
Concerns About American Dominance
The core of the EU’s concern is that AWS and Azure occupy the upper rungs of the global cloud hierarchy, with commanding market positions in Europe. Regulators say these cloud platforms may serve as unavoidable gateways for companies deploying modern digital services.
Underlying the issue is the deep dependence that enterprises and increasingly consumers have developed on cloud infrastructure. As the Commission put it, AWS and Azure may act as critical intermediaries “between businesses and consumers,” in ways the DMA was designed to monitor.
Larger trade relations issues also play a role. President Donald Trump has openly sided with American tech firms in their disputes with European regulators, stoking fears that the EU might ease its stance to gain tariff considerations. The new probes appear to offer the opposite signal: the EU is not only holding its ground but exploring whether the DMA itself needs updating to keep pace with the rapid evolution of cloud services.
EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said regulators are looking at current practices and also considering “whether the DMA existing rules should be updated so Europe can be competitive with fast-evolving practices in the cloud sector.” A separate investigation will examine whether the existing law is sufficient to address emerging forms of market power, a move that suggest that the EU believes that cloud infrastructure may require additional regulatory tools.
Recent Outages Were a Wake-Up Call
Both cloud vendors responded with their familiar arguments about the cloud ecosystem. Microsoft praised the European cloud market as innovative and highly competitive, while AWS repeated its claim that designating cloud providers as gatekeepers risks higher prices and slower innovation for European customers. Both firms pledged to participate in the Commission’s inquiry.
Recent service outages, one at AWS and another at Microsoft, created widespread disruptions, highlighting how deeply Europe’s economy relies on these US platforms. Outages rippled into airline operations, streaming services and even the deployment of AI applications. Such incidents reinforce the EU’s worry that a small set of providers control infrastructure too essential to fail.
The cloud sector’s structure adds complexity. Unlike social networks or mobile operating systems, cloud platforms don’t lend themselves cleanly to the DMA’s user-based metrics. That’s why the Commission is turning to a functional test: Are these services gateways that businesses cannot reasonably avoid?
The omission of Google Cloud from the probes, despite being the third-largest global provider, was deliberate. Regulators said early evidence suggests Google’s cloud footprint is smaller in Europe and poses fewer immediate concerns. Still, the Commission left the door open should market conditions shift.
The EU expects to complete all three investigations within 12 months. Whether they lead to new obligations, new penalties or even new legislation, Europe’s message is clear: the core of digital competition lies in the cloud, and the bloc intends to shape its rules before the world’s leading cloud vendors become even more entrenched.
