European Union regulators are finalizing a Digital Markets Act investigation to designate Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services under strict Big Tech rules. Expected in November 2026, the decision will give both firms six months to comply with interoperability and self-preferencing curbs. The move intensifies EU scrutiny of the cloud sector amid outage concerns, though it has drawn criticism from US President Donald Trump and complicated transatlantic trade talks.
Ongoing cloud assessments
- ▪The European Commission stated that its Digital Markets Act assessments of Amazon and Microsoft are ongoing and no final decision has been taken
- ▪The European Commission sent preliminary investigation findings to Amazon and Microsoft in June 2026 as part of its ongoing cloud sector assessment
Compliance requirements under the DMA
- ▪Designated cloud providers under the Digital Markets Act must comply with interoperability requirements and curbs on customer lock-in and self-preferencing
- ▪Once designated under the Digital Markets Act, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure will have six months to comply with the European Union's rules
Increased scrutiny of the cloud sector
- ▪Global service disruptions caused by several major cloud outages have increased regulatory uncertainty and scrutiny of the cloud sector in Europe
- ▪The European Union is increasing regulatory scrutiny of the cloud sector to address strategic vulnerabilities from relying heavily on non-European cloud providers
Digital Markets Act impact
- ▪The European Union's Digital Markets Act has drawn criticism from United States President Donald Trump and complicated transatlantic trade negotiations
- ▪The European Union's Digital Markets Act has so far resulted in three fines against American companies
Previous DMA fines on tech companies
- ▪The European Union fined Alphabet's Google a total of 890 million euros in 2026 for breaching the Digital Markets Act
- ▪The European Union has previously fined United States tech companies Apple 500 million euros and Meta 200 million euros for breaching the Digital Markets Act
Debatable claims
- ▪The EU's DMA designation of Microsoft and Amazon cloud services is justified
- ▪Europe's reliance on US cloud providers poses an unacceptable strategic vulnerability
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