- Mozilla has issued a warning about Microsoft’s design practices, claiming that the company uses harmful design tactics to influence users to switch to its Edge browser.
- The report highlights how Microsoft interrupts the installation process of Google Chrome on Windows devices, promoting the security and privacy benefits of Edge.
- Mozilla calls for regulatory action to restore browser choice and competition across major platforms.
Archive link: https://archive.ph/koBY6
Chrome
Windows
Well there’s your problem!
Microsoft really wants someone to remind it of these days:
I like that part of firefox’s summary was that it’s free. Uh, yeah, they all are. Thanks Mozilla!
I don’t remember that. Where is it from?
Microsoft never liked competing browsers (not even in the pre-IE6 era when all they had was crap), so it’s hard to believe it came from them.
EU fined the sh1t out of them, and somebody in the regulatory body at the time realized that was not enough. So they were ordered to present the user with a choice of a browser during the OS install.
What I really want to know is why and how it went away.
What I really want to know is why and how it went away.
The move was in place because of the fear that IE was becoming a monopoly. Now Edge is very very far from the most popular browser, and Google Chrome is looking like the overwhelmingly dominant player, there’s no reason to make MS prompt people to download rival products anymore.
INAL but my understanding was a lot of the fines and penalties hung on IE being part of the OS. I think it was the update functionality but don’t quote me.
So with some legal technicalities, later versions of windows made it “not” part of the OS just a bundled application. A legal distinction without meaning but it meant they didn’t need to do these things anymore.
Yup, they already forced Google to announce that they’ll add such a choice screen for the search engine and web browser on Android: https://www.neowin.net/news/google-will-add-new-search-and-browser-choice-screens-for-android-phones-in-europe/
It’s only a matter of time before Microsoft does so too.
Microsoft:
Microsoft really trying to get away with what it did in the browser wars again, but it’s probably gonna turn out on for them this time
So Microsoft just does the same shit they’ve done a hundred times before and have been penalized for a hundred times before.
Give them a few billion dollars fine.
Jail those managers that made this decision
THAT will make sure they will start behaving. If not, it’s all just “please don’t” and Microsoft being “suuuuurely we would never ever!”
Fuck Microsoft
have been penalized for a hundred times before
That’s where you’re wrong. The last time they shoveled their browser at us in clearly anti-competitive ways they were found guilty and then … nothing. Essential software or some such, and nothing.
So no, they haven’t been penalized; not on their Sherman offence, and here they go repeating it.
Hammer them.
The clickbait in this article is so bad, I thought it was a security vulnerability or something, but it’s just something else related to Mozilla again.
I’m still genuinely curious if Mozilla is going to actually accept a renewal for the search deal with Google, or if they’re actually going to start practicing with a praise and try implementing that search engine selection screen.
or if they’re actually going to start practicing with a praise and try implementing that search engine selection screen.
You already can change the default search engine?
You can, but that’s not the point. The idea is to ask users to choose upon opening the app for the first time. It’s an already common statistic that most people never actually change any settings beyond basic personalization. It’s part of why Google spends so much money on setting Google Search as the default engine.
That’s a weak argument. If Microsoft bundled Edge with Windows and stopped at that, nobody would be complaining about it. The problem is how annoying it is at nagging users to try Edge.
Same with Firefox. If a user changed the search engine, only for Firefox to “forget” that choice one hour later, or if it had popups saying “Hey you have DDG as your search engine. Do you want try Google instead?” [ Yes ] [ Ask me again in an hour ]," then I for sure would have a fucking problem with that.
