From the Wall Street Journal, August 18:
The two tech giants control more than 80% of market through Chrome and Safari, raising questions among regulators and competitors
Web browsers were at the center of the first major antitrust case challenging the power of big tech companies more than two decades ago. Now a new generation of regulators and rivals are again questioning whether the gateways to the internet are too tightly controlled.
Back then, in the 1990s, the target was Microsoft Corp. Today, it is Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Apple Inc., which together control more than 80% of the market through their Chrome and Safari browsers, respectively.
In the U.K., the Competition and Markets Authority said in June that it was examining competition between browser developers on mobile devices as part of an antitrust investigation into Apple and Google.
After complaints from a group of software developers, dubbed Open Web Advocacy, the European Commission added a section focused on browser developers to the recently passed Digital Markets Act, which is expected to impose penalties on companies that haven't adopted its recommendations by 2024. Several startups are also trying to break in, claiming they can make the browser experience more app-friendly and in hopes that the competitive landscape is shifting. Microsoft has mounted a new push with its Edge browser, which effectively replaced Internet Explorer.
Some participants in the market said that Chrome and Safari grew dominant because they were faster and more secure than competitors, and that it is relatively easy to switch between different browsers.
A Google spokesman said people choose to use Chrome because it is “fast, secure and offers the best experience,” adding that Google has made the browser’s underlying code free for others to use....
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One of the upstarts: The Browser Company | Building Arc
