Published: October 6, 2026 | Category: Technology | By Mahesh
Brussels is preparing to bring the cloud businesses of Amazon and Microsoft under its Big Tech rulebook, with a decision reportedly planned for November. Bloomberg reported on October 2, citing people familiar with the process, that the European Commission is finishing a draft that would designate Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act.[2] The draft could still slip, and nothing is final.
If you run software on either platform, this is the most important piece of EU cloud regulation in years. It would be the first time cloud infrastructure falls inside the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and it arrives while the price of running modern AI is already under scrutiny, as we saw in our look at Anthropic's reported losses.
What the Commission has already said
The paper trail is short. On November 18, 2025 the Commission opened three cloud market investigations, two of them aimed at designating AWS and Azure.[4] Then on June 25 it told both companies of its preliminary view that they should be designated.[1] Its reasoning was blunt: AWS and Azure are the largest and second largest cloud services in the EU, and they act as an important gateway between businesses and their customers.[1]
Here is the twist. Neither service meets the DMA's usual size tests. The Commission said so itself, then went ahead anyway on a qualitative finding, pointing to long-standing customer bases facing high switching costs and to the way both firms capture much of the new demand for AI computing inside their own ecosystems.[4] One reading of the June announcement is that it is a precedent as much as a verdict, because it shows the Commission is willing to use judgement instead of arithmetic. Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera framed the stakes by saying cloud has become a cornerstone of Europe's economy and a prerequisite for AI.[1]
The calendar also explains the November timing. A DMA market investigation has to conclude within 12 months of opening, which puts the legal deadline in November 2026.[4] So the reported date is less a surprise than the clock running out.
What a gatekeeper label would force on AWS and Azure
Designation itself changes nothing overnight. It starts a six-month countdown after which the main obligations bite.[5] Counting from a November decision, that points to roughly May 2027. The DMA's core duties would then apply to the two services: no favouring their own products, support for interoperability with rival offerings and easier movement of customer data.[7] The obligations sit in Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the regulation, and the compliance window is set in Article 3(10).[5][6]
A second law is arriving at almost the same moment. The EU Data Act's ban on switching charges is due to land in January 2027, which would remove one of the quieter forms of lock-in.[5] Put the two together and a cloud customer in Europe could, within about a year, find it cheaper and technically simpler to leave than it is today. Whether that actually happens depends on how the rules are written into practice, which neither law settles by itself.
The argument over whether this is the right tool
AWS has already pushed back. Its position in June was that the Data Act regulates cloud, so extra DMA rules could discourage investment in Europe.[3] I could not find a public Microsoft statement in the reporting available today, so I will not guess at its line.
There is a fair case on each side. Supporters point to the concentration the Commission described and to Europe's growing reliance on a handful of non-EU providers. Sceptics ask whether a regime designed for app stores and social networks fits infrastructure that customers configure deeply and rarely change. Both views are reasonable, and the real test will be the detail of what interoperability means for services that behave very differently from one cloud to the next.
There is a hardware angle too. Cloud capacity is being stretched by AI demand, and the supply side has its own chokepoints, a theme we covered in our piece on the CoWoS packaging bottleneck. Regulators can force software portability. They cannot conjure chips.
What this means for your cloud contract
Start with the fact that nothing has changed yet. No designation exists, and the November date is reported timing, not a confirmed deadline.[2] That said, procurement teams do not need a final decision to start asking sharper questions.
Read your exit terms. Large multi-year commitments often carry spending minimums and data-transfer costs that make leaving expensive. If a commitment runs past mid-2027, ask what happens to those terms if the rules change.[5] Map the sticky parts. Managed databases and proprietary AI services are usually harder to move than plain virtual machines. Know which of yours are which. Ask vendors directly. A short written question about their portability plans costs nothing and tells you a lot.
Founders building AI products on these platforms should also watch the agent side of the stack, since moving workloads is only half the problem. Our coverage of Nvidia's open agent safety platform shows how fast the surrounding tooling is changing. For smaller teams, rival clouds and European providers have a clear commercial reason to market easier migration as the rules take shape.
What we still do not know
The list is long. The draft is not public, so nobody outside the Commission knows exactly which services are covered or how the obligations would be phrased. Bloomberg's sources spoke anonymously, and they said timing could slip.[2] Either company could challenge a final decision in court, and no one has said whether they will. Until a text exists, anything more precise than a six-month clock is speculation.
Watch three things. First, whether the draft appears in November as reported. Second, how the Commission words interoperability for cloud services. Third, whether Microsoft and Amazon accept the designation or fight it.
Common Questions
Will AWS and Azure be designated DMA gatekeepers?
Not yet. Bloomberg reported on October 2, 2026 that the European Commission plans to issue a draft decision in November that would designate both services. The Commission has said no final decision has been taken, and the timing could slip. The designation would follow the preliminary view it published in June.
What is the Digital Markets Act in simple terms?
The Digital Markets Act is an EU law that sets extra competition rules for very large digital platforms known as gatekeepers. Those firms must not favour their own products, must let rival services work with theirs and must make it easier for customers to move their data. Breaking the rules can lead to heavy fines.
How long would AWS and Azure have to comply after designation?
Six months. Under the DMA a gatekeeper has six months after a service is listed in the designation decision to meet the main obligations. If a decision lands in November 2026, that points to roughly May 2027.
Why are AWS and Azure being treated as gatekeepers if they miss the size thresholds?
The Commission took a qualitative route. In June it said AWS and Azure are the largest and second largest cloud services in the EU and an important gateway between businesses and their customers, even though they do not meet the DMA's quantitative thresholds. It is the first time cloud infrastructure has been brought into the regime this way.
What should companies using AWS or Azure do now?
Nothing changes today, because no designation exists yet. Sensible steps are to review exit and data-transfer terms in any multi-year commitment, map which workloads would be hard to move and ask vendors how they plan to handle interoperability and portability. Treat the reported timeline as a planning assumption, not a deadline.
Sources
- European Commission, "Commission reaches preliminary position that Amazon's and Microsoft's market leading cloud services should be designated under the DMA", press release, June 25, 2026. Link
- Bloomberg, "Microsoft, Amazon Cloud Arms Set to Face Deeper Scrutiny Under EU's Tech Rules", October 2, 2026. Link
- TNW, "EU set to name AWS and Azure DMA gatekeepers in November", October 2, 2026. Link
- webhosting.today, analysis of the Commission's June 25, 2026 preliminary position. Link
- Parameter via BERI, "AWS and Azure DMA Duties Land Midway Through a 3-Year Commit", October 2026. Link
- European Union, Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 (Digital Markets Act), Official Journal of the EU. Link
- TipRanks, "Amazon and Microsoft Cloud Businesses Could Face Tougher EU Rules as Soon as November", October 2026. Link
Read More on Depth Grid
- The Real AI Chip Bottleneck: CoWoS Packaging
- Anthropic Lost $42B. The Real Number Is $8B.
- Nvidia Built a Kill Switch AI Agents Can't Touch
- AI Agents Can Now Buy Things With No Human
- The AI Chip Market Everyone Forgot: Robots That Don't Talk
Depth Grid News Desk | depthgrid.in
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