The European Union has launched a significant probe into the cloud computing services of tech giants Amazon and Microsoft, a move that could subject them to stricter competition rules.
EU Targets Tech Giants' Cloud Dominance
The European Commission, the bloc's digital regulator, announced on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, that it is opening twin investigations to assess whether Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure should be designated as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This decision was revealed by the EU's tech chief, Henna Virkkunen, at a summit in Berlin focused on boosting European digital sovereignty.
The commission stated it will analyse whether these two US-based cloud providers act as crucial gateways for businesses and consumers, even though they do not currently meet all the standard DMA gatekeeper thresholds related to size, user numbers, and market position. The investigations are expected to be concluded within a year.
Broader Implications for the Cloud Sector
In a related move, Brussels will open a third probe to determine if the DMA itself needs updating to ensure it can effectively address practices that may be limiting competitiveness and fairness in the EU's cloud computing sector. The DMA is a key part of the EU's legal framework designed to create a fairer digital market by imposing a list of obligations and restrictions on large tech companies.
The law grants the EU powerful enforcement tools, including the ability to impose fines of up to 10 percent of a company's total global turnover. This scrutiny comes amid growing pressure on the EU to address the market dominance of US cloud providers, which collectively hold about two-thirds of the market share within the 27-nation bloc.
Industry Response and Market Context
An AWS spokesperson responded to the investigation, expressing confidence that the European Commission would recognize the cloud sector's dynamism. The spokesperson highlighted the "lots of choice, unprecedented innovation opportunity, and low costs" available to companies and warned that designating cloud providers as gatekeepers risks "stifling invention or raising costs for European companies."
The investigation unfolds against a backdrop of recent service disruptions that have raised concerns about over-reliance on a few providers. In October, Microsoft cloud clients, including Alaska Airlines, experienced widespread outages that prevented customers from checking in. This followed similar Amazon cloud troubles that forced popular streaming and messaging services offline for hours.
AWS currently leads the global cloud computing market, with Microsoft Azure a close second and Google Cloud in third place. It is noteworthy that Google is not currently under investigation by the EU. Both Amazon and Microsoft are already subject to stricter DMA rules for their other services, such as Amazon Marketplace and Microsoft's LinkedIn.
