Mozilla has a close relationship with Google, as most of Firefox’s revenue comes from the agreement keeping Google as the browser’s default search engine. However, the search giant is now officially a monopoly, and a future court decision could have an unprecedented impact on Mozilla’s ability to keep things “business as usual.”

United States District Judge Amit Mehta found Google guilty of building a monopolistic position in web search. The Mountain View corporation spent billions of dollars becoming the leading search provider for computing platforms and web browsers on PC and mobile devices.

Most of the $21 billion spent went to Apple in exchange for setting Google as the default search engine on iPhone, iPad, and Mac systems. The judge will now need to decide on a penalty for the company’s actions, including the potential of forcing Google to stop payments to its search “partners completely,” which could have dire consequences for smaller companies like Mozilla.

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.

The open-source web browser has experienced a steady market share decline over the past few years. Meanwhile, Mozilla management was paid millions to develop a new “vision” of a theoretical future with AI chatbots. Mozilla Corporation, the wholly owned subsidiary of Mozilla Foundation managing Firefox development, could find itself in a severe struggle for revenue if Google’s money suddenly dried up.

  • ampersandcastles@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    4 months ago

    I have one of those anti-capitalist takes where if taking down one company takes down another company, then the system is probably broken.

    Which we know it is, but not enough know it is.

    • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      4 months ago

      That isn’t really a anticapitalist take. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the tech industry isn’t super healthy.

      In fact we probably need more competition

      • firewood010@lemmy.zip
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        4 months ago

        We need much more competition on every front. The VPN market is the only place where competition exists, even though it is narrowed with fake competitions.

        Things could change if Linux distro becomes the majority system in PC, notebook and mobile markets. The PC market is shifting thanks to Windows 11 system requirements. The mobile market tho.