Brussels: The Digital Markets Act review ended in 2026 with a decision that surprised few specialists: the Commission will not reopen the law. Its report, COM(2026) 178 of 28 April, finds the gatekeeper regime fit for purpose and names cloud computing and artificial intelligence as the next enforcement priorities. For companies, regulators and rivals, the result matters less for what it changes in the text than for where it points the enforcement machine.
What the Digital Markets Act review concluded
The report was due under Article 53 of the regulation, and it recommends no legislative amendment. Seven gatekeepers now operate 23 core platform services under the rules, and the Commission argues that its existing powers already reach most of the problems it sees. It also declined to extend the Article 7 messaging interoperability duty to social networks at this stage. The next Article 53 review falls due in 2029.
Leaving the law untouched reflects a political calculation. Reopening the act would have invited lobbying from every side and delayed enforcement while Parliament and Council argued over amendments. Keeping the text intact after the Digital Markets Act review gives the Commission time to use tools it has not yet fully tested.
Cloud and AI move to the front
After the Digital Markets Act review, cloud is where the Commission has put new work. Legal commentary reports three market investigations opened on 18 November 2025. Two examine whether Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services should be designated as gatekeepers, and one asks whether the DMA works effectively for cloud services at all. The designation question is hard, because the thresholds were drafted around consumer platforms rather than infrastructure sold to businesses.
Artificial intelligence is the second front. Two specification proceedings against Alphabet, opened in January 2026, cover interoperability under Article 6 and the sharing of search data for AI services. A separate non-compliance investigation looks at the possible demotion of publishers’ content in search results. Together these cases show how the Commission intends to stretch a law written for app stores and search engines over a new technology cycle.
The enforcement record so far
The first fines came on 23 April 2025, when the Commission found Apple and Meta in breach and imposed penalties of €500 million and €200 million. The decisions covered anti-steering rules and consumers’ choices over the use of their data. Critics argue that the fines remain small relative to gatekeeper revenue and that compliance changes stay contested. Supporters reply that the decisions proved the Commission will use the full toolbox.
The Digital Markets Act review and the 2026 enforcement report add a quieter point. Most of the work happens in dialogue, through compliance workshops and specification talks, rather than through headline penalties. That approach produces slower but more durable changes in product design.
Questions the Digital Markets Act review leaves open
Three issues stand out. First, designating cloud services will test whether the law’s quantitative thresholds can capture companies with very different business models. Second, specification proceedings on AI will meet the AI Act and the General Data Protection Regulation, and joint guidelines from the European Data Protection Board and the Commission on the link between the DMA and data protection are still in preparation. Third, the political climate around transatlantic trade will shape how aggressively Brussels pursues the largest American firms.
What happens next for gatekeepers
Gatekeepers should expect more requests for information on cloud and AI services through 2027, and challengers should expect the Commission to listen to their complaints on interoperability. The Digital Markets Act review leaves the law unchanged, but it signals that enforcement, not legislation, will define the next phase of EU digital regulation.
