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Currently the objective of a major antitrust survey, Google could drag other companies with it if a conviction is confirmed. Behind the future of the agreements signed by Google is the survival of certain publishers, including Mozilla.
First of all, a rapid reminder: for the moment in the United States, the DOJ – The Ministry of Justice – has been behind Google for years because of strong suspicions of abuse of dominant position. In August 2024, the district court judge ruled that Google’s dominant position was possible, because the American company had contracts with other companies which allow it to maintain a monopoly position in online research. To remedy the situation, the DoJ made two recommendations: on the one hand, that Google unfolds chrome, its web browser closely linked to Google Search. Second, Google should break its promotional agreements, which promotes its search engine to Internet users.
In a blog article published on May 9, Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice-president of Google regulatory affairs, described proposals as “extremes” and said that they would “harm consumers and technological leadership of America”. In a way, Mozilla shares this point of view.
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Firefox, a browser on the support of life… from Google
One of Google Chrome’s rivals is Firefox, a browser developed by Mozilla. Firefox and Chrome are a bit like David and Goliath … except that David is largely funded by Goliath’s money.
In fact, to date, around 85% of Mozilla’s revenues come from an agreement of the type at the heart of the current dispute: Google pays Firefox to remain the default search engine in the browser. And, inevitably, if the American courts order Google to reduce links with its partners, it means depriving Mozilla of the vast majority of its income … and, therefore, practically condemning the company to make their doors.
The paradox is immense: by trying to brake the dominant position of Google in online research, the American Doj may well prevent View Mountain’s business from helping to finance its own competition in the browser sector … Unsurprisingly, Mozilla sounds the alarm.
“It’s very scary
Interviewed by the American website The Verge, Eric Muhlheim, Mozilla financial director, simply summarized the situation: “It’s very scary,” he said. Firefox currently represents 90% of Mozilla’s income, while Google is responsible for 85%. Eric Muhlheim explains that the loss of this contract would require “major budgetary reductions within the company”, essentially massive redundancies. A situation that would lead to a “vicious circle”: fewer staff to develop Firefox would also mean running the risk of making the browser less attractive for Internet users. In addition, Mozilla’s non -profit arm would no longer be able to finance open source initiatives or others in favor of the environment, as is currently the case.
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In a recently published blog article, Mozilla publicly confirms the delicate situation in which the company is. “A major concern is the particular emphasis on the contractual remedies proposed by the Ministry of Justice which could harm the capacity of independent browsers to finance their operations. These remedies can involuntarily harm the competition from browser and browser engines without considerably progressing the search for search engines. ” The death of competition also means removing alternatives for Internet users. And that’s something Mozilla also stressed. “We urge the Court to consider the solutions that reach its objectives without harming independent browsers, browser engines and, ultimately, without harming the web,” concludes the company. It now remains to be seen if the case of Mozilla will be heard by the American courts.
