The European Commission, Browser Choice, and Fair Play

By | April 11, 2011 | 9 Comments

The European Commission, Browser Choice, and Fair PlayThe company behind Maxthon has filed a petition, asking the European Commission to change the way it counts web browser market share on Windows PCs.

According to the official blog post, when it comes to the browser ballot screen, the EC should only count the number of Apple Safari users on Windows and not Mac OS machines, as it gives an unfair advantage to Apple and hurts smaller parties.

As you might know, market share determines the top 5 positions of the browser ballot screen and for the company that claims to be the world’s 5th largest web browser maker on Windows PCs, it’s kind of a big deal.


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Being passionate about software, Armin joined FavBrowser.com in early 2011 and has been actively writing ever since. Having accepted the challenge, he also enjoys watching anime, indulging in good books, staying fit and healthy, and trying new things.

  • http://my.opera.com/rafaelluik Rafael

    That’s not a valid argument, they just want to get into the top 5…
    What they should be doing is argue against the top 5 thing (the ballot could show the 12 at once or have a better way than a horizontal scrollbar to show users there’s more).

    • Armin

      Your alternative method sounds good as well, but how exactly is it not a valid argument? Only counting the market share of browsers on Windows for an issue that specifically has to do with Windows makes sense to me.

    • Horst VonBrockenberg

      That’s true about the horizontal scrollbar — but Microsoft doesn’t want to do that. The point is, the EU is counting Apple share on a Windows issue to make the determination. It’s stupid.

      • http://my.opera.com/rafaelluik Rafael

        No… If individual OS market share was enough then Apple would have to be sued for monopoly on MAC OS Safari use, what’s not happening because market share is counted across all the Web-enabled devices / OSs.

        • Armin

          I believe Windows is a different beast here since it possesses over 90% market share. That is a justification I read about a while ago anyway. Windows simply matters more than Mac OS and is looked at more harshly in return.

          • http://my.opera.com/rafaelluik Rafael

            90% of a 100% thing called “Web-enabled devices / OSs”.

  • Rudi Visser

    Why are they only targetting Safari?? What about Firefox on Linux/Mac, etc…

    • Armin

      The focus is on Safari because Maxthon actually beats Safari out of the top five listed browsers in the browser ballot, I believe. I am sure this applies to all browsers nevertheless.

    • Armin

      The focus is on Safari because Maxthon actually beats Safari out of the top five listed browsers in the browser ballot, I believe. I am sure this applies to all browsers nevertheless.

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