June 25, 2026
Cloudy with a chance of fines
European Commission lines up Amazon and Microsoft for cloud gatekeeper status
EU eyes Amazon and Microsoft as cloud bosses, and commenters are already roasting the gate
TLDR: The EU is moving toward labeling Amazon and Microsoft’s cloud arms as too powerful, which could force changes and bring huge penalties if they break the rules. Commenters swung between mockery of the whole “gatekeeper” label and blunt support for cracking down on tech giants that act untouchable.
Brussels has fired the latest warning shot at Amazon and Microsoft: the European Commission’s early view is that their cloud businesses are so powerful they may deserve special rules under the Digital Markets Act, the EU’s big law aimed at stopping digital giants from locking people in. In plain English, officials think AWS and Azure have become such huge middlemen for businesses that switching away is painfully hard — and if the ruling sticks, the companies could face major obligations and fines worth up to 10 percent of global revenue. Yes, people in the comments immediately did the math, and yes, everyone noticed those numbers are absolutely enormous.
But the real popcorn moment is the reaction. One commenter delivered the bleak superhero joke of the day: “And when everyone is a gatekeeper … no one is.” Another went full comedy philosopher with “Who’s on each side of the gate?” — basically capturing the thread’s vibe that the word “gatekeeper” sounds dramatic, vaguely medieval, and maybe a little ridiculous when applied to companies that run giant chunks of the internet. Still, beneath the jokes was a harder edge: one reader pointed to those monster fines and said the point is simple — big tech keeps acting like the law is optional.
Meanwhile, the companies are pushing back hard. Microsoft says Europe is ignoring Google’s growing power; AWS says extra rules could hurt innovation. Their critics, including the Open Cloud Coalition, are calling that rich and want regulators to move fast. So the crowd has settled into two camps: “finally, rein them in” versus “great, another giant regulatory food fight.” Either way, the comments have already turned this into a full gate-themed drama.
Key Points
- •The European Commission has preliminarily concluded that Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services should be designated as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act.
- •If the designation is confirmed, the companies' cloud services would face DMA obligations, and noncompliance could bring fines of up to 10 percent of worldwide turnover.
- •The Commission said AWS and Azure are the largest and second-largest cloud computing services in the EU and cited entrenched user bases, lock-in effects, switching costs, and large ecosystems.
- •Microsoft and AWS both rejected the preliminary position and said they will continue engaging with the Commission, while the Open Cloud Coalition welcomed the finding.
- •If the preliminary findings are confirmed, Microsoft and Amazon would have six months to bring their cloud services into compliance with DMA requirements; both already have gatekeeper status for other services.