according to bloomberg on the 18th, the european commission may release preliminary findings on the cloud services market early next week, very likely bringing microsoft azure and amazon web services (aws) officially under the scope of the digital markets act (dma). this move would mark the first time these two global cloud service giants are designated as “gatekeepers,” triggering a series of mandatory compliance obligations.
this assessment is not sudden. as early as november 2023, the european commission publicly stated that microsoft and amazon possess “significant and durable market power” in the cloud computing sector, promptly initiating a formal investigation to determine whether they meet the dma’s three key thresholds—size, influence, and entrenched position. several sources close to decision-makers indicate that, following this preliminary determination, a final ruling is expected by the end of this year, though the exact timeline remains undecided. if confirmed, both companies will be required to open their apis to enhance system interoperability, refrain from restricting customers’ migration to competing platforms, and strictly prohibit prioritizing their own products within their proprietary cloud ecosystems—all measures aimed at breaking structural monopolies and revitalizing market competition.
since its implementation, the dma has continuously reshaped the landscape of tech governance in europe and the united states. its core objective is to curb the entrenchment of dominant positions by mega-platforms through self-preferencing, data barriers, and closed ecosystems. however, the legislation has also sparked strong backlash from the u.s., with critics viewing it as unilateral regulation targeting american firms, thereby intensifying tensions in transatlantic digital trade negotiations. previously, apple and meta were fined €500 million and €200 million respectively for alleged violations of dma provisions, becoming among the first entities subject to penalties.
this latest regulatory upgrade focusing on cloud infrastructure is closely tied to the frequent major service outages seen in recent years. in 2023, aws experienced a 15-hour global outage affecting hundreds of critical users, including apple, mcdonald’s, and epic games; in october of the same year, an azure failure paralyzed alaska airlines’ check-in systems and disrupted electronic voting in the scottish parliament. such incidents continually highlight the systemic risks inherent in the global digital economy’s heavy reliance on a handful of cloud service providers. the eu is seizing this opportunity to accelerate the inclusion of computing infrastructure into the anti-monopoly regulatory framework, aiming to prevent excessive concentration of digital power in the hands of a few technological oligopolies. digital markets act regulation
