Opera has requested the EU General Court to annul the European Commission’s decision not to designate Microsoft Edge as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The company claims Microsoft has made it difficult for users to use third-party browsers as the system default on Windows devices. Despite the EU indicating that Edge isn’t dominant enough in the digital markets to be designated as a gatekeeper service, Opera claims it meets all quantitative thresholds under the DMA.
Opera's Stance on Microsoft's Practices
Last year, the EU Commission listed Microsoft as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). For context, the DMA is designed to prevent gatekeepers from imposing unfair practices on businesses and end users while simultaneously “ensuring the openness of important digital services.” Initially, Microsoft’s Bing, Edge, and Windows services were under scrutiny. The Redmond giant argued that Bing has yet to hit the set threshold to be considered a gatekeeper. The EU watchdog investigated the matter and concluded that Bing and Edge aren’t ‘dominant enough’ in digital markets for DMA regulation, ultimately exempting them from regulation.
According to Opera: “The designation of Edge as a gatekeeper is needed to level the playing field for browsers on PCs in the same way as has been done with smartphones.” Opera says third-party browsers aren’t treated equally on Windows. It claims that since Microsoft Edge hasn’t been designated as a gatekeeper service under the DMA, Microsoft has made it difficult for users to choose and use an alternative browser as the system default on Windows.
In light of this, Opera says the EU’s failure to designate Edge as a gatekeeper is “entirely inconsistent with the purpose and promise of the DMA.” Opera claims Microsoft Edge meets all the quantitative thresholds under the DMA and should be a designated gatekeeper service.
“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.” – Opera
Microsoft's Tactics Under Scrutiny
Elsewhere, Microsoft was spotted using tricks designed to lure users into using Microsoft Edge. In this case, Microsoft made it impossible for users to access the new Outlook app for Windows if they hadn’t installed Microsoft Edge on their devices. Mozilla called out Microsoft for using deceptive tricks and harmful designs.
In February, Mozilla commissioned research that revealed Microsoft uses harmful designs and deceptive tactics to promote its Edge browser to Windows users. Mozilla used the research to ask relevant authorities and regulators to take action. It argued that Microsoft’s harmful designs placed third-party browsers at a competitive disadvantage.
This isn’t the first time we’ve learned about Microsoft pushing its browser and search engine down users’ throats. Late last year, some users trying to download Google Chrome while using Microsoft Edge were slapped with a survey asking them why they wanted to switch browsers.
