European Union regulators announced on April 28, 2026, plans to expand the scope of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to encompass cloud computing services and artificial intelligence, marking a new phase in the bloc’s regulatory crackdown on Big Tech.

According to Reuters, EU Commission officials stated that concentration levels in the cloud computing market have reached a point warranting intervention. Hyperscale cloud providers including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud could face the same level of regulatory scrutiny currently applied to designated “gatekeeper” companies such as Apple, Google, and Meta.

The expansion would require major cloud service providers and AI platforms to comply with DMA “fair competition” rules, including: prohibitions on self-preferencing, allowing users to freely choose third-party services, ensuring cross-platform data portability, and preventing the bundling of data across different services.

An EU Commission official responsible for digital policy said in a statement: “Cloud computing and artificial intelligence are becoming the core infrastructure of the digital economy. We must ensure that these sectors remain open and competitive.”

The regulatory expansion comes amid intensifying global debate over AI governance. The White House is also considering new regulatory measures for the AI industry, while China has already implemented a series of regulations targeting generative AI.

Analysts point out that this decision will have far-reaching implications for American tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. These companies dominate the European cloud computing market and, if designated as DMA “gatekeepers,” would face stricter compliance requirements and potentially massive fines.

An analyst at the European Center for Tech Policy (Tech Policy Press) stated that extending the DMA to cloud services and AI is a necessary response to the current power imbalance in digital markets, though it also raises questions about regulatory efficiency and innovation.

A timeline for implementation has not yet been published. The EU Commission is expected to release detailed implementation guidelines in the coming weeks.

Source: Reuters