Mozilla CEO: Microsoft Edge browser move to Chromium is a disaster for users
From the news that Microsoft’s official Edge browser will use Chromium kernel, but in just a few days, it has caused a controversy. Some people regard it as Microsoft’s enthusiasm, Google’s victory; others think this is Microsoft’s trick, let Windows users accept this built-in browser, and no longer install Chrome.
Mozilla CEO Chris Beard yesterday on the matter made a comment that he thought from a commercial point of view, Microsoft’s decision may make sense; but from the user’s point of view, this could be a disaster.
According to Chris Beard, Google’s Chromium and Mozilla’s Gecko Quantum, these “browser engines” are the real core of the browser, governing the many things that each of us can do online. They determine the core features, such as what users can see, how secure we are when browsing content, and what controls and services the site can do for us. Microsoft’s decision gave Google the ability to control the entire Internet alone.
“From a business point of view Microsoft’s decision may well make sense. Google is so close to almost complete control of the infrastructure of our online lives that it may not be profitable to continue to fight this. The interests of Microsoft’s shareholders may well be served by giving up on the freedom and choice that the internet once offered us. Google is a fierce competitor with highly talented employees and a monopolistic hold on unique assets. Google’s dominance across search, advertising, smartphones, and data capture creates a vastly tilted playing field that works against the rest of us.
From a social, civic and individual empowerment perspective ceding control of fundamental online infrastructure to a single company is terrible. This is why Mozilla exists. We compete with Google not because it’s a good business opportunity. We compete with Google because the health of the internet and online life depend on competition and choice. They depend on consumers being able to decide we want something better and to take action.“
