Software company, Mozilla, has accused Apple, Google, and Microsoft of using their control over hardware and operating systems to force more people to use their browsers.
The company said in a recent blog post that Mozilla’s Firefox browser is being disadvantaged as a result of Microsoft, Google, and Apple making it difficult for people to download and use other browsers through the Windows Store, Play Store, and App Store, respectively.
According to Mozilla, rivals are limiting features to the first-party browser and either disregarding or resetting a user’s preferred browser.
Mozilla voiced its worries about Apple limiting users’ ability to move their data from Safari to other browsers and prohibiting third-party browser engines.
The company also voiced their displeasure with several Windows features that, against the user’s preference, started Microsoft Edge instead of their usual browser.
Similar criticism was leveled at Google and its Chrome browser since certain Android functions open in Chrome rather than the user’s preferred browser.
Mozilla stressed that the problems can appear in different forms, like making it more difficult for a user to download and use an alternative browser, disregarding or overwriting a user’s preferred browser, limiting functionality to the first-party browser, or requiring third-party browsers to use the first-party browser engine.
“We call on Apple, Google, and Microsoft to engage with us in this new forum to speedily resolve these concerns. People deserve choice, and choice requires the existence of viable alternatives. Alternatives and competition are good for everyone, but they can only flourish if the playing field is fair. It’s not today, but it’s also not hard to fix if the platform vendors wish to do so,” the company concluded.
Mozilla welcomes the participation and contributions of other non-browser parties interested in these issues and invites other browser providers to share their concerns in a similar manner.
