Dual Oversight of Cloud Markets: The Growing Interplay Between Sector Regulation and Competition Law in France

 

This overview draws on an article published in the 2026 e-Bulletin of the Communications Law Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA), exploring the growing interplay between competition law and sector-specific regulation in French cloud markets.

As cloud services become a strategic infrastructure for generative AI, the regulation of digital infrastructures is emerging as a key legal and economic challenge.

The French approach illustrates the emergence of a hybrid regulatory framework combining ex ante oversight and competition enforcement in a market environment shaped by concentration, interoperability concerns and data governance issues.

Cloud as a strategic infrastructure for AI and a source of competition concerns

 Cloud services have become a key infrastructure for generative artificial intelligence, underpinning access to computing capacity and data required to develop and deploy AI models.

 

Against this backdrop, the French Competition Authority (FCA) has identified several structural risks. It highlights the opacity of hyperscalers’ offerings, which limits comparability and users’ ability to switch providers, as well as the role of cloud credits and egress fees, which may hinder data portability and multi-cloud strategies.

 

These findings form part of a broader approach integrating the challenges raised by generative AI, calling for increased scrutiny of emerging control points within the value chain.

 

National anticipation of the Data Act: the SREN Law and the role of the French Telecoms Regulator (ARCEP)

 France has anticipated the Data Act through the adoption of the SREN Law of 21 May 2024, strengthening the oversight of cloud service providers.

 

The law introduces measures relating to cloud credits and data transfer fees, going beyond the EU framework by aligning such fees with actual costs and, in some cases, prohibiting charges considered to involve no incremental cost.

 

It also entrusts ARCEP with a central role in ensuring interoperability and data portability. Through its recommendations and public consultations, the regulator is shaping the technical and economic conditions for implementing these requirements, reflecting the emergence of a proactive regulatory approach complementing competition law.

 

From sector inquiry to enforcement: self-preferencing and litigation prospects

 Building on its sector inquiries, the FCA published a report in November 2025 on self-preferencing practices in the cloud sector.

 

The report identifies several potentially problematic practices, including unfavorable conditions applied to third-party services, conduct favoring partner hyperscalers, and exclusive access to certain AI tools on specific cloud infrastructures.

 

These developments suggest a possible shift towards enforcement proceedings and confirm the growing convergence between sector-specific regulation and competition enforcement.

 

Conclusion

 The French approach illustrates the emergence of a hybrid framework combining competition law and sector-specific regulation in the governance of cloud and AI markets.

 

As the Data Act, the Digital Markets Act and the Artificial Intelligence Act come into effect, France is positioning itself as a testing ground that may inspire other countries facing the challenges of digital infrastructure concentration.

 

The full article is available on the IBA website: https://www.ibanet.org/dual-oversight-of-cloud-markets