Britain is planning to ramp up its anti-competition scrutiny, looking at the world’s top cloud providers.
AWS, Microsoft, and Google are the top three cloud providers in the world, accounting for roughly 81% of cloud revenue, according to Reuters. Britain’s communication regulator wants to take a look at these so-called cloud “hyperscalers.”
It’s not surprising the UK is taking a look at the cloud market. UK’s regulatory authorities have already taken a tougher stance on Big Tech than the US. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is challenging Microsoft’s Activision deal. The UK has also blocked Meta’s purchase of Giphy and is part of suit against Google that could see the search giant on the hook for a record €25 billion.
According to Reuters, the UK has no plans to stop with an investigation of the cloud market. Messaging services, connected TVs, smart speakers, and other digital markets are next on the agenda.