cma sms designation

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is considering whether to designate Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) with strategic market status (SMS) under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act. This designation would impose bespoke conduct obligations, mandatory merger notifications, and turnover-based penalties on these cloud providers. The CMA has announced it will decide by the end of March whether to escalate the matter under the new digital markets enforcement regime. This tag covers discussions and updates regarding the CMA's SMS designation process for cloud services, focusing on regulatory actions affecting major technology firms in the UK cloud market.