In February, the European Union"s regulatory body, the European Commission, announced it would not designate a number of Microsoft"s apps and products as gatekeepers under the EU"s Digital Markets Act. That included Microsoft"s Edge web browser. Now, a rival to Edge, Opera, has sent a request to the EU General Court, asking them to reverse the EC"s decision about Edge.
In a press release, Opera said that because Microsoft controls the Windows operating system, it makes it difficult for consumers to set up third-party browsers as the default on Windows PCs. Opera claims that because Microsoft does not have a web browser choice screen on Windows, it is "entirely inconsistent with the purpose and promise of the DMA."
Opera added:
We believe that the decision in particular fails to properly assess Edge’s durable and privileged position on Windows devices which creates an uneven playing field for its competitors. Edge, like Internet Explorer before it, is the gatekeeper through which users on Windows must pass to download another browser. This is precisely the type of gatekeeper role which the DMA was intended to address.
It is certainly a situation that Microsoft has had to deal with before. In December 2009, the EC ordered the company to offer EU users of Windows a browser choice menu after the agency determined that the company pushed its Internet Explorer browser over all others on Windows. The browser choice menu was discontinued by Microsoft for EU users in December 2014.
According to Statcounter, Google"s Chrome browser is currently the dominant Windows browser, with close to 65 percent of the market. Microsoft"s Edge is a distant second, at over 13 percent. Apple"s Safari is third, with close to 9 percent, followed by Mozilla"s Firefox at 6.5 percent. Opera is currently fifth, at close to 3 percent.