The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday it is seeking information from the public on cloud computing companies' business practices including details on their market power, competition and potential security issues.
The US cloud computing business is dominated by four providers that include Alphabet's Google, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Oracle.
None of the companies immediately responded to a request for comment.
FTC chair Lina Khan called for input from the public on Twitter.
1. Swathes of the economy now seem reliant on a small number of cloud computing providers. @FTC is seeking public input on how the current market structure and business practices of cloud providers affect competition and data security.https://t.co/nRtYDgPryE
— Lina Khan (@linakhanFTC) March 22, 2023
The FTC and Justice Department under President Joe Biden have taken a strong stance against the perceived abuse of market power by challenging numerous mergers, cracking down on what it calls "junk fees", and other actions aimed at giving consumers more say in the services they use.
FTC staff are interested in the impact of cloud computing on industries including "healthcare, finance, transportation, e-commerce, and defense," according to a press release.
The public will have until May 22 to submit a comment on the FTC "Request for information".
Comments on which segments of the economy rely on a handful of cloud service providers, detail on contract negotiations, incentives to buy more services from a single provider, detail on services provided and information on notifications related to security are some of the areas the watchdog wants to hear about.
The consumer protection agency noted it has targeted companies that failed to put in place security safeguards to protect data stored on third-party cloud computing services including one involving the alcohol delivery platform Drizly and another focused on education technology provider Chegg .
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