“Crucial to identify potential abuses” involving Big Tech, AI and Cloud, says German regulator
Germany’s competition watchdog has acknowledged that it is “crucial now to identify potential abuses” in the AI and Cloud sector, in response to a new submission from civil society groups.
The submission, filed with Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (FCO, or Bundeskartellamt), calls for an urgent ‘market sector inquiry’ as a first step towards preventing US Big Tech taking over the country’s AI sector.
Backed by 14 German and international civil society organisations, it warns that, unless action is taken, Big Tech will dominate the emerging generative AI sector, because of the reliance on cloud computing services which they already control.
In Germany, as across Europe and much of the world, Microsoft and Amazon – and to a lesser extent Google – dominate the majority of cloud computing services which are relied on by businesses, individuals and governments.
Because AI requires large amounts of computing power, its developers are particularly reliant on buying this capacity from the ‘cloud’ – huge data centres controlled by these tech giants. Concerns have already been raised about the threat this poses to European sovereignty.
The Bundeskartellamt has significant powers to act in this area, and its president has already warned that AI is a “first-class fire accelerator” for anti-competitive tactics.
However, the application to the FCO warns that there is not yet sufficient oversight of the cloud sector and its role in AI in Germany, and is urging the FCO to open an inquiry.
Following the inquiry, the civil society organisations call for steps to be taken to address the problem – which could include:
· unbundling: cloud services to be split off from Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet
· an injunction separating ownership of AI foundation models (e.g. Chat GPT) from AI operating systems (Microsoft Azure)
· interoperability: a requirement that generative AI technologies are developed to be accessible on all Big Tech platforms.
Responding to the submission, the Bundeskartellamt told Tagesspiegel Background that: “Big Tech occupies large parts of the tech stack, including essential infrastructure such as cloud services. This poses various risks for competition. Smaller competitors could become dependent, for example, on access to cloud services and data, as well as through lock-ins into specific ecosystems. That’s why it is crucial now to identify potential abuses at an early stage and to ensure open markets for AI.”
Rosa Curling, director at the tech justice non-profit Foxglove, which coordinated the submission, said: “It’s bad enough that the ‘cloud’ relied on by everyone from Governments to individuals is already dominated by three US tech giants. But worse still, this puts them in a prime position to control the future of the emerging AI sector.
“Alarm bells should be ringing for anyone who claims to care about German or European sovereignty. But so far, we have seen little action.
“Germany’s FCO has a strong track record in standing up to the tech giants, and it’s encouraging that it’s recognised the threat here. It has the powers to act, but it needs to do so now – the window is rapidly closing to prevent US tech giants from tightening their grip on the future.”
Jürgen Bering, legal expert at Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (Society for Civil Rights, GFF), which supports the application, said: “This is not just about technology, but about safeguarding fundamental rights and democratic oversight. If the key infrastructures for artificial intelligence are dominated by just a few US corporations, Europe loses any ability to enforce rules and set its own standards. The Federal Cartel Office has the legal tools to counter this – and it should use them decisively.”