UK cloud market set to get stronger anti-competitive rules in clampdown on US
giants

Date:
Thu, 21 Nov 2024 11:29:00 +0000

Description:
Britains Competition and Markets Authority is reportedly looking at
investigating Microsoft, Amazon and Google over cloud dominance.

FULL STORY

The UKs Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is reportedly set to propose
new measures to address anticompetitive business practices in the nations
cloud market. 

Such measures would address the current dominance held by hyperscalers like
Amazon, Microsoft and Google. 

The investigation stems from a 2022 Ofcom report examining the dominance that
these companies have in the UKs cloud sector  the review was previously
referred from the communications regulator to the CMA to address these
concerns.

CMA could investigate Amazon, Microsoft, Googles dominance 

The CMA reportedly has a provisional decision deadline of November to 
December 2024, meaning that the hyperscalers could soon be facing even more
regulatory pressure after what seems like months of endless investigations. 

If it goes ahead with its investigation, the CMA would target issues like
egress fees, unfair licensing fees, discounts for larger clients and
interoperability issues that present technical difficulties for those looking
to switch providers. 

Remedies could include price caps, reduced technical barriers and banning
agreements that encourage customers to commit to higher spending. 

Microsoft could also be asked to charge the same for its productivity 
software regardless of the cloud provider, something that could disrupt its
existing model. 

In a June 2024 report , the CMA said that it was in the early stages of
looking into potential remedies. The Authority declined to comment on the
timing. 

For the three hyperscalers, this wont be the first investigation that theyve
faced in recent months over anticompetitive practices. Microsoft has been in
the spotlight a lot over its cloud terms in Europe and the US. Just last week
the FTC indicated that it would be investigating Microsoft over locking
customers into its Azure cloud platform  Amazon, Apple and Google are not
exempt from similar pressures by the FTC either. 

Via CNBC

======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/uk-cloud-market-set-to-get-stronger-anti-competi
tive-rules-in-clampdown-on-us-giants

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