SUMMARYMozilla is pressing Microsoft over Windows settings that steer users toward Edge as the default browser after updates. The company points to European rules that already make Windows more respectful of browser choice and wants those protections extended to users elsewhere. Microsoft has not responded to Mozilla’s concerns in a way it considers sufficient.
"Mozilla reps tell me they've met with Microsoft about their concerns," reports PC Magazine, "but that the company wasn't responsive."
"They'll do the minimum the law requires to respect user choice," explains Kush Amlani, Mozilla's counsel overseeing global competition and regulatory work... Mozilla recently marked 100 days since it released an 87-page report detailing the ways in which Microsoft pushes Edge on Windows PCs.... One example is how Windows often displays a "Let's finish setting up your PC" pop-up after an OS update. This screen has an enabled-by-default option to "use recommended browser settings," which makes Edge the default web browser. However, that screen doesn't appear in Europe. European laws now force Microsoft to make Windows more respectful of user choices. For instance, in European countries, the Start menu opens links in your default web browser rather than in Edge, as it does everywhere else. Amlani says Mozilla wants Microsoft to release the European version of Windows to the rest of the world. However, he thinks this will require government action. As he puts it, "Microsoft can do better when it's forced." The last line of the article sums up Mozilla's main point. "No one should have to fight their OS this hard on something as simple as a browser preference."