Michael Kan, PC Magazine:

Mozilla points to a key but less eye-catching proposal from the DOJ to regulate Google’s search business, which a judge ruled as a monopoly in August. In their recommendations, federal prosecutors urged the court to ban Google from offering “something of value” to third-party companies to make Google the default search engine over their software or devices. 

“The proposed remedies are designed to end Google’s unlawful practices and open up the market for rivals and new entrants to emerge,” the DOJ told the court. The problem is that Mozilla earns most of its revenue from royalty deals — nearly 86% in 2022 — making Google the default Firefox browser search engine.

This is probably another reason why U.S. prosecutors want to jettison Chrome from Google: they want to reduce any benefit it may accrue from trying to fix its illegal search monopoly. But it seems Google’s position in the industry is so entrenched that correcting it will hurt lots of other businesses, too. That does not mean it should not be broken up or that the DOJ’s proposed remedies are wrong, however.

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Alfonso Maruccia, TechSpot:

Its most recent financials show Mozilla gets $510 million out of its $593 million in total revenue from its Google partnership. This precarious financial position is a side effect of its deal with Alphabet, which made Google the search engine default for newer Firefox installations.

Jason Del Rey, Fortune:

Mozilla is putting on a brave face for now, and not directly addressing the existential threat that the ruling appears to pose.

“Mozilla has always championed competition and choice online, particularly in search,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Fortune on Monday. “We’re closely reviewing the court’s decision, considering its potential impact on Mozilla and how we can positively influence the next steps… Firefox continues to offer a range of search options, and we remain committed to serving our users’ preferences while fostering a competitive market.”

It is possible Mozilla will not be impacted by remedies to Google’s illegal monopoly, the details of which will begin to take shape next month. It seems possible Mozilla could be losing virtually all its revenue, thereby destabilizing the organization behind one of the few non-Chromium browsers and the best documentation of web technologies available anywhere.

Trying to untangle an illegal monopolist is necessarily difficult. This will be a long and painful process for everyone. The short-term resolutions might be ineffectual and irritating, and they may not change Google’s market position. But it is important to get on the record that Google has engaged in illegal conduct to protect its dominance, and so it will be subjected to new oversight and scrutiny. This exercise is worth it because there ought to be limits to market power and anticompetitive behaviour.

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