Amazon, Microsoft face UK antitrust probe

STORY: Amazon and Microsoft face yet another antitrust investigation in Europe.

This time the U.S. tech giants are in hot water with Britain's media regulator, Ofcom.

On Thursday (October 5), it asked the country's antitrust authority to investigate the two companies' dominance in the UK cloud market.

Ofcom said its study found features that made it harder for UK businesses to use multiple cloud suppliers.

In April it said it was worried about the practices of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft because of their market position.

Ofcom said the companies had up to 80% combined market share of UK public cloud infrastructure services last year.

Businesses told Ofcom they were concerned about it being too difficult to switch or mix and match cloud providers.

Amazon said it disagreed with the move on Thursday.

And the firm argued Ofcom's findings were based on a 'fundamental misconception' of how the IT sector works.

Microsoft said it was committed to ensuring the UK cloud industry remained highly competitive.

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority - or CMA - will lead the investigation.

It welcomed Ofcom's move, and said many businesses now completely relied on cloud services,

Meaning it was essential to have effective competition in a market worth more than $9 billion.

The CMA said it would conclude its investigation by April 2025.