BRUSSELS: Drafting EU rules to curb the power of Amazon, Apple, Alphabet entity Google and Facebook should also tackle cloud computing service providers over potential anti-competitive practices, a study said on Tuesday.
The report matches concerns that some EU lawmakers are reviewing the Digital Markets Act https://www.reuters.com/technology/tech-rules-not-just-few-giants-eus-vestager -says-2021-07- 02 (DMA) The EU may be liberal towards cloud computing companies proposed by antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager.
Amazon’s Amazon Web Services was the leading provider in the second quarter of this year, followed by Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, market research company Statista found. Others include IBM Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Salesforce and Oracle.
The study was prepared by Frederick Janney, chairman of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Competition Committee, in his personal capacity for the trade body CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe).
“The DMA states that cloud infrastructure may be covered by the DMA but it is not clear whether all suppliers are covered, for example it does not appear to be Google Cloud as Gatekeeper or IBM Cloud or Salesforce under the DMA. Qualified,” Jenny told Reuters in an interview.
He added that potential anti-competitive practices by some companies could include unfair pricing techniques or make it technically difficult for users to approach a competitor.
Jenny said the study interviewed some 25 companies using cloud computing services, many of which cited issues such as unfair license terms, which lead customers to already use the software when moving to a competitor. Force you to pay again.
Defendants were also concerned about providers bundling software products with their cloud infrastructure to make rival products less attractive or more expensive.
Google, Oracle and SAP declined to comment. Microsoft and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
EU lawmakers will likely have to draft DMAs with EU countries before it becomes law in 2023.
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