Mozilla seeks response from Microsoft

One hundred days after Mozilla released its "Over The Edge 2.0" report, the organization has not received a satisfactory response from Microsoft regarding its browser practices. The report, published in July, highlighted deceptive design techniques used by Microsoft to direct users away from browsers other than Edge on Windows 10 and 11.

Microsoft complies with minimum legal standards

Mozilla’s representative, Kush Amlani, stated that Microsoft seems content with meeting the strict minimum required by law outside the European Union. He noted that while Microsoft has made some modifications within the EU due to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), there has been no sign that the company would change its practices in other regions unless forced to do so.

Public pressure has limited effect

Amlani emphasized that public pressure has had limited impact on Microsoft’s behavior, with the DMA being the only factor influencing the company’s actions. He noted that while public pressure did affect Microsoft’s approach to Copilot, it has not been effective in changing the company’s long-standing practices regarding browser default settings.

Mozilla and Opera challenge EU decision

Mozilla and Opera have both challenged the European Commission’s decision not to designate Edge as a gatekeeper under the DMA. Amlani mentioned that Opera has appealed the decision, and the case may be sent back to the European Commission for re-examination. He believes the broader issue lies in how the Commission perceives the Microsoft ecosystem and the role of Edge within it.

Firefox users affected by default settings

Mozilla estimates that more than one million Firefox users have lost their default browser settings during the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Amlani noted that the transition, which has affected over one billion users, has resulted in Firefox losing more than one million default browsers.

Microsoft’s pre-pinned Edge and Copilot

Amlani raised concerns about Edge being pre-pinned to the taskbar in Windows and the integration of Copilot, which could be seen as unfair advantages for Microsoft. He argued that the DMA should be applied rigorously to Windows, even in its current form, to ensure that the default browser choice is respected.

Unclear data collection in consent windows

Regarding the consent windows in Windows and Edge that could send navigation data from competing browsers to Microsoft, Amlani stated that the exact data being collected is not clear. Researchers have identified these consent requests, which may contain "dark patterns" designed to manipulate users into switching to Edge.

Default browser choice remains unresolved

Amlani emphasized that the most urgent change Microsoft should make is to respect the default browser choice during the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11. He noted that this issue has been raised before, with Mozilla’s CEO sending an open letter to Satya Nadella in 2015, but Microsoft has not addressed it effectively.