It just so happens that all four of the major web browsers will lose all of their funding all at once when that happens
I left Mozilla a decade ago. Back then, most of their revenue came from the Google search deal in Firefox. With their browser share dwindling, you would have thought that they would have done a better job diversifying their income streams. But, no, over 80% of their funding still comes from Google.
Which is a problem. Because the reason that Google even bothers to fund Mozilla to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, is because they need Firefox to exist. If there’s no browser competition, then Chrome is a monopoly, and regulator can take action.
In addition to funding Mozilla (and therefore Firefox), Google also pumps around $18 billion (that $18,000 million!) to Apple for being the default search option in Safari. The fourth major web browser is Microsoft Edge. Guess what? It’s based on the open-source Chromium browser which forms the basis of Google Chrome. I use Brave (also based on Chromium). The web browser market is essentially several Googles in a trench coat.
The US Department of Justice has argued that Google shouldn’t be able to make search deals with Mozilla and Apple. In addition, they’ve also argued that Google should be forced to sell off Chrome, and be stopped for paying for Chrome and Chromium. Although Microsoft does contribute some code back to Chromium, it’s miniscule compared to Google. So in terms of development budget, Microsoft Edge will lose around 94% of its funding if and when that happens.
This is terrible for the web, and it’s not exactly as if people haven’t been predicting this for years. One of the interested parties is, surprise surprise, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. If they end up with Chrome, which has over 65% market share, it’s game over for privacy and security for most people. This is an existential crisis for the open web.
The DoJ’s argument against Google makes perfect sense. The Sherman Antitrust Act was specifically designed to target “competitors” who form illegal agreements to maintain monopoly power.
It’s obviously illegal for Google to prop up Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari as if they were co-equal competitors to Chrome. And Chrome itself is the biggest “search-engine deal” of all, which is why the DoJ is so focused on forcing Google to divest from Chrome.
It just so happens that all four of the major web browsers will lose all of their funding all at once when that happens.
Forcing Google to stop funding its “competitors” and divest Chrome doesn’t just punish Google; it simultaneously pulls the financial rug out from under every single major browser, including those positioned as alternatives.
The laws intended to foster competition will inadvertently destabilize the foundational tools millions rely on to access the internet.
Source: Dan Fabulich
Image: Growtika