European Commission Tests DMA Cloud Rules With Industry Roundtable

Key Takeaways

• Market Investigation Continues: The European Commission convened a stakeholder roundtable as part of its ongoing Article 19 Digital Markets Act market investigation into cloud computing services.
• Focus on Practical Barriers: Discussions centered on interoperability and technical features, financial conditions, and contractual and commercial practices that may affect contestability and fairness in cloud markets.
• Switching and Customer Choice: Participants explored technical, commercial and regulatory approaches that could reduce barriers to switching, facilitate interoperability and strengthen customer choice.
• Evidence Still Being Gathered: The Commission said the views shared during the roundtable will inform its assessment alongside evidence collected throughout the broader market investigation.

Deep Dive

The European Commission brought together cloud providers, business users, software providers and technical experts on July 1 as it continued its examination of cloud computing services under the Digital Markets Act with a stakeholder roundtable to test the evidence it has gathered and explore where today's cloud market may still fall short of the competition and fairness the legislation is intended to promote.

The discussion formed part of the Commission's ongoing market investigation under Article 19 of the DMA, an exercise aimed at assessing whether the regulation's existing obligations are effective in addressing practices that limit competitiveness or are unfair in the cloud sector. Rather than debating broad principles, participants were asked to examine the practical issues that shape how cloud services are bought, used and changed over time. The conversation focused on interoperability and technical features, financial conditions, and contractual and commercial practices.

Building on evidence collected during the investigation, the participants discussed technical, commercial and regulatory approaches that could reduce barriers to switching between providers, facilitate greater interoperability and strengthen customer choice. The Commission said particular emphasis was placed on identifying the measures most likely to improve contestability and fairness in cloud computing services.

For now, the roundtable remains one step in a wider fact-finding exercise rather than a signal of the Commission's conclusions. The views expressed during the discussion will be considered alongside the evidence gathered throughout the investigation as the Commission evaluates whether the DMA's current framework is sufficient to address the practices under examination.

The Commission also highilighted that this investigation stands apart from its pending investigations into the potential designation of two cloud providers under the DMA. Although both relate to the cloud sector, they are separate proceedings.

When the market investigation was announced, the Commission committed to publishing a report setting out its findings within 18 months of its opening. That report is due no later than May 2027, bringing together the evidence gathered throughout an investigation that remains focused on one central question whether the DMA's existing obligations are working as intended in the cloud computing market.

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