The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced plans to intensify its antitrust investigation into the dominant positions held by Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the cloud services market. The regulator raised concerns that these tech giants’ market dominance may be stifling competition in the burgeoning cloud computing industry.

The CMA’s move comes amid the introduction of stricter regulations aimed at overseeing major technology firms more closely. The investigation will assess whether Microsoft and AWS should be designated as having “strategic market status,” a classification that would subject them to tougher oversight and regulations due to their significant influence.

This probe reflects growing global scrutiny of large technology companies’ roles in their respective markets, especially in rapidly expanding sectors such as cloud computing. Industry observers note that this UK regulatory action could have broader implications for how cloud services providers operate and are regulated worldwide.

Investors and stakeholders are closely watching these developments as the outcome of the CMA’s investigation may impact the competitive landscape of cloud services and influence regulatory policies internationally.