EU expands DMA to cloud and AI

The European Commission said on April 28 that its next Digital Markets Act review will focus on cloud computing and artificial intelligence services. (reuters.com) (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) The Digital Markets Act is the European Union’s rulebook for “gatekeepers,” the biggest digital platforms that can act like toll booths between businesses and users. It already applies to Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Booking.com, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft. (reuters.com) In its review report dated April 28, the Commission said the law itself is still “fit for purpose” and does not need its core architecture reopened. Instead, it wants to examine whether the current framework can be used more aggressively in cloud and AI markets. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) (reuters.com) That matters because cloud is the plumbing for modern AI: the computing power, storage and networking that train models and run them for customers. European Parliament documents say cloud-based infrastructure and AI-driven tools can create new forms of lock-in even when no cloud provider has yet been formally designated under the DMA. (europarl.europa.eu) The Commission said it is investigating whether Amazon and Microsoft should be labelled gatekeepers for cloud services. It also said it will examine whether certain AI services should be designated as “virtual assistant” core platform services under the law. (reuters.com) European Union antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said the DMA was designed to be “future-proof” and able to adapt to emerging challenges in AI and cloud. The Commission said the law has already made it easier for users to move data when switching services and improved interoperability for device makers. (reuters.com) The European Parliament has been pressing the same point ahead of the formal review deadline of May 3, 2026. In documents prepared for this week’s plenary, lawmakers called for quicker compliance proceedings and closer scrutiny of AI-driven search tools and cloud services. (europarl.europa.eu 1) (europarl.europa.eu 2) The move sits alongside a separate European push to regulate AI models directly under the AI Act. A voluntary code of practice for general-purpose AI models was finalized in July 2025, covering transparency, copyright and safety, with the AI Act’s GPAI rules applying from August 2, 2025 for new models. (lw.com) A second track is also coming for industrial policy. Parliament’s legislative tracker says the Commission plans a separate Cloud and AI Development Act, first flagged in the 2026 work programme, to build a stronger European market for secure cloud and AI services. (europarl.europa.eu) Apple pushed back on the DMA review, saying it understated the law’s effects on privacy, security and innovation. The Commission, for its part, said it does not plan to force interoperability between social networks for now because it sees no clear demand. (reuters.com) Brussels is not rewriting its Big Tech rulebook this week. It is pointing that rulebook at the next layer of digital power: the clouds and AI systems that increasingly sit underneath everything else. (reuters.com)