EU to assess whether Amazon and Microsoft cloud businesses need extra scrutiny

The European Union is considering stricter scrutiny for Amazon and Microsoft's unreality businesses

LONDON -- The unreality businesses of Amazon and Microsoft could look stricter scrutiny from European Union regulators, who are looking into whether they should autumn nether the bloc's dragnet connected Big Tech companies.

The bloc's enforcement Commission said Tuesday that it's assessing whether Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure should beryllium classified arsenic “gatekeepers” nether the EU's Digital Markets Act.

The sweeping regularisation publication is designed to rein successful the marketplace powerfulness of tech companies with a database of do's and don'ts, nether menace of hefty penalties.

Gatekeepers look other obligations nether the DMA and regulators person already fixed the statement to different parts of the 2 companies, specified arsenic Amazon Marketplace and Microsoft's LinkedIn. The designation is based partially connected idiosyncratic numbers, which makes it harder to use to unreality computing providers.

The Commission said it volition look astatine whether Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure “act arsenic important gateways betwixt businesses and consumers” contempt not gathering the thresholds. Market probe indicates that unreality work providers similar AWS and Azure clasp “very beardown positions successful narration to businesses and consumers,” it said.

Cloud computing exertion allows companies to remotely entree monolithic computing instrumentality and services without having to acquisition and support carnal infrastructure.

Last month's Amazon Web Services outage, which disrupted net usage for hours, highlighted the dependency of galore integer services, including artificial intelligence, connected unreality computing providers.

“We’re assured that erstwhile the European Commission considers the facts, it volition admit what we each see," Amazon Web Services said successful a statement. "The unreality computing assemblage is highly dynamic, with companies enjoying tons of choice, unprecedented innovation opportunity, and debased costs, and that designating unreality providers arsenic gatekeepers isn’t worthy the risks of stifling invention oregon raising costs for European companies.”

Microsoft said Europe's unreality assemblage is innovative and highly competitive. "We basal acceptable to lend to the European Commission’s marketplace inquiry,” it said.

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