The European Commission opened a DMA cloud probe in 2025 targeting Azure and AWS for practices including egress fees and contractual barriers that make it hard for customers to switch providers.Source: European Commission DMA probe

What is Azure egress fee and why does Europe care?

Egress fees are charges Microsoft levies when data leaves Azure. Critics argue they create artificial lock-in that prevents EU organisations from moving to European cloud providers.Source: EU Cloud Switch Code of Conduct

Is Azure compliant with GDPR and EU data rules?

Azure offers EU Data Boundary commitments, but the CLOUD Act means US authorities can compel Microsoft to produce customer data regardless of where it is stored, a persistent sovereignty concern.Source: Microsoft EU Data Boundary documentation

Background

Azure became subject to European Commission scrutiny in 2025 when the Commission opened a formal DMA cloud probe alongside a parallel investigation into AWS. The probe targets alleged practices — including egress fees, contractual barriers, and technical lock-in — that the Commission argues make it harder for European customers to move workloads or switch cloud providers. Azure holds approximately 22% of global cloud infrastructure revenue and operates EU data centres in Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, and France. Despite data-residency options, Azure infrastructure remains subject to US CLOUD Act jurisdiction, a core concern for European governments and regulated industries pursuing data sovereignty.