Norwegian browser maker Opera has filed an antitrust complaint in Brazil against what it called Microsoft’s underhanded tactics to steer people toward using its Edge browser.
The tactics thwart browser competition on Windows, locking alternatives such as Opera out of important preinstallation opportunities, while Microsoft also frustrates users’ attempts to download and use competing browsers, Opera said.
“Microsoft thwarts browser competition on Windows at every turn,” said Opera general counsel Aaron McParlan.
‘Dark patterns’
“First, browsers like Opera are locked out of important preinstallation opportunities. And then Microsoft frustrates users’ ability to download and use alternative browsers,” McParlan said.
Microsoft ignores users’ browser choice in various ways by opening PDF files or links in Microsoft software such as Outlook or Teams instead of the default browser, or opening links through Windows features such as Search or Widgets, Opera said.
It said Microsoft also uses “obtrusive banners and messages” that discourage users from downloading alternative browsers when they search for those browsers on Edge.
Brazil is one of Opera’s main markets, with the browser being the third most popular there, and Opera said it was an opportunity for Brazil to take the lead on an international issue.
The company wants Microsoft to allow PC makers to preload alternatives, stop blocking consumers from downloading competing software and ending “dark patterns” that push people toward using Edge.
Opera also said it wants Microsoft to stop requiring PC makers to deliver “S mode” devices as a condition for receiving rebates on Windows licences.
‘S mode’
“S mode” is a streamlined and secure mode of Windows that places additional restrictions on how the operating system can be used – including restricting browsing to the Edge browser.
Opera has long challenged Microsoft on its browser practices, going back to a complaint in the EU in 2007 over Microsoft’s browser tying practices.
The complaint led to Microsoft being forced to include a browser ballot screen in Windows, allowing users to choose one of 12 popular browsers instead of defaulting to Internet Explorer.
Microsoft was later fined 561 million euros (£485m) for failing to include the browser choice page in Windows 7 and Windows 8.
Opera earlier this month challenged the European Commission over its decision to exempt Edge from “gatekeeper” status under the Digital Markets Act.
EU restrictions
Microsoft has been forced to take some measures under the DMA nevertheless, such as ending certain messages to users in the EU that prompt them to use Edge as their default browser and allowing them to uninstall the Microsoft Store.
Microsoft’s tying of Internet Explorer to Windows was the basis for a US Justice Department antitrust case against Microsoft in 1998 that eventually led to the company being convicted of illegal monopolistic practices and a 2002 settlement that imposed various constraints on Microsoft’s operating system business.
