Microsoft, Amazon Web Services face EU scrutiny under Digital Markets Act

The European Commission just fired a shot across the bow of Big Cloud. On November 18, EU regulators opened formal market investigations into whether Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services should be designated as “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act, a classification that would subject both platforms to a sweeping set of competition rules designed to pry open dominant digital markets.

Here’s the thing: neither company actually meets the DMA’s standard quantitative thresholds. The law typically requires 45 million monthly active users in the EU and a market capitalization of at least €75 billion to trigger gatekeeper status. The Commission is arguing that qualitative factors, namely the sheer dominance these two platforms wield over European cloud infrastructure, justify the designation anyway.

What the EU is actually doing

Azure and AWS together account for roughly 70% of European cloud revenue. Preliminary findings from the investigation are expected around the week of June 22, 2026. A final decision on gatekeeper status is targeted before the end of that year.

Amazon is already designated a gatekeeper for its Marketplace platform. Microsoft holds the same designation for LinkedIn. Both are among a total of seven companies currently carrying the gatekeeper label. But extending the framework to cloud infrastructure would represent a meaningful expansion of the DMA’s reach into territory it hasn’t previously touched.

If the gatekeeper designation sticks, the obligations could be substantial. We’re talking about enhanced interoperability requirements, restrictions on customer lock-in practices, data portability rights that don’t come with punitive fees, and heightened scrutiny of egress charges.

The Commission is also running a concurrent investigation into whether existing rules adequately address competitiveness issues across the broader cloud sector.

Why cloud infrastructure is different

Egress fees, the charges companies pay to move their data out of a cloud provider, have long been a sore point for enterprise customers. Critics argue these fees function as a de facto switching cost that keeps customers anchored to their existing provider regardless of whether a competitor offers better pricing or performance.

What this means for investors

Non-compliance with DMA obligations can result in fines of up to 10% of a company’s global turnover. For repeat offenses, that figure doubles to 20%.

With preliminary findings not expected until mid-2026 and a final decision by year-end, this investigation will unfold slowly.

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