The European Commission is expected to designate Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) as digital “gatekeepers” under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), according to sources familiar with the matter. The Commission’s investigation is expected to conclude that both cloud providers meet the criteria. A formal decision is expected in November.
If designated, AWS and Azure will have six months to comply with new obligations. These include enabling interoperability with rival services and not favoring their own products and services.
The move would expand EU oversight of the cloud computing sector, which has faced scrutiny over market concentration and reliance on a few dominant non-EU players.