Opera Files Antitrust Complaint Against Microsoft in Brazil

Alternative web browser maker Opera has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft in Brazil for Windows 11 behaviors tied to its Edge web browser.

“Microsoft thwarts browser competition on Windows at every turn,” Opera general counsel Aaron McParlan says. “First, browsers like Opera are locked out of important preinstallation opportunities. And then Microsoft frustrates users’ ability to download and use alternative browsers.”

Much of this will sound familiar, as Microsoft’s tactics are well-known: Opera correctly alleges that Microsoft uses anticompetitive tactics that include dark patterns and “manipulative design tactics” to keep users on Edge and away from other browsers. It ignores a user’s default browser choice. And it frustrates attempts to download other browsers with Edge using “obtrusive banners and messages.”

But the complaint also goes beyond product tying. Opera is the third-most popular browser in Brazil, but Microsoft gives incentives to PC makers there to ensure they don’t bundle Opera.

“Opera is already a major success in Brazil, with millions of loyal users who actively choose it, despite Microsoft’s tactics,” McParlan added. “The complaint, which concerns practices implemented globally by Microsoft, presents an opportunity for Brazil to be a leader on this international issue.”

Opera would like Brazil to force Microsoft to allow PC makers to bundle its browser, stop preventing users from downloading other browsers, put an end to its dark patterns, and outlaw Microsoft’s requirement that PC makers deliver an S mode experience on their devices to qualify for lower prices; S mode, among other things, prevents users from downloading software like Opera from the web.