Mozilla: Consumers have no choice when it comes to browser choice

Competition within the gaming industry isn't the only problem between different companies right now. In a recent study, Mozilla highlighted that the public also has very limited browser choices due to the influence and tactics of browser-owner tech giants such as Microsoft, Apple, and Google.

Mozilla says that forcing consumers to choose and use a specific browser is problematic. According to the paper, this "ultimately eliminates their ability to choose for themselves," and with limited players in the competition, browser owners are not forced to give consumers what they deserve, including enough innovation, product Quality and even privacy. Furthermore, Mozilla explained that the actions of these companies could also be seen as consumers being forced into unfair contracts.

"We believe that if people had a meaningful opportunity to try alternative browsers, they would find many compelling alternatives to the default browser bundled with their operating system," Mozilla said. “These opportunities have been suppressed for years by online choice architectures and business practices that benefit the platform and are not in the best interests of consumers, developers or the open web. The effects of self-preference and undermining consumer choice over the years, including Its impact on consumer behavior is difficult to underestimate. It is also difficult to estimate the loss of disruptive innovations, alternative products and features, and independent competitors as a result of these practices.”

Mozilla argues that the dominance of today's leading browsers is rooted in "deceptive schema practices aimed at consumers." For example, it mentions how platforms like Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft put their own browsers into their operating systems and set them as default browsers. It specifically called on Microsoft to push Windows users to use its products when users were looking for the Firefox browser. It’s also worth recalling that Microsoft previously removed the one-click ability to set web browsers other than Edge as the default browser, but brought it back after a backlash.

Mozilla acknowledges that Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft have created different innovations for consumers, but says they don't do it well enough to benefit the entire internet ecosystem, consumers and developers. With this, Mozilla encourages the authorities to take action.

“As these companies have so far failed to do better, regulators, policymakers and lawmakers have spent a lot of time and resources investigating the digital marketplace. As such, they should be well placed to recognize the importance of browser competition and take Actions prevent further harm to consumers from continued inaction and stalled competition," Mozilla explained. “We call on them to enforce the laws that already exist, as well as those that will come into effect. Where existing laws and regulations are lacking, we call for their introduction and underscore their importance to the future of the internet. Regulators, policymakers in many jurisdictions Lawmakers and legislators can use this moment to create a new era of Internet storytelling – one where consumers and developers benefit from real choice, competition and innovation.”

According to data from web traffic analysis site StatCounter, Mozilla Firefox's global browser market share in August 2022 was 3.16%, down from 3.29% in July. Above are Safari and Edge browsers, with 18.78% and 4.3% respectively in August. Meanwhile, leading the competition is Chrome, which has consistently had the highest market share, recently reaching 65.52%. The paper published by Mozilla does not offer specific interventions that regulators and lawmakers want, but catching up with the numbers shown above could be a huge and long journey for Mozilla, as its competitors have direct access to using their Consumer actual devices and other products. Additionally, the leading companies included in its research are constantly enhancing and updating their browsers in a desperate attempt to steal more users from other browser competitors.