Microsoft Is Frustrating The Ability Of Users To Switch Away From The Edge Browser, Alleges Opera In Brazil Anti-Trust Complaint

On Tuesday, Opera Ltd (NASDAQ:OPRA) filed a formal complaint with Brazil's antitrust regulator, alleging Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) gives its Edge browser an unfair advantage on Windows devices at the expense of rivals.

What Happened: Norwegian browser developer Opera submitted a complaint to Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), accusing Microsoft of anti-competitive behavior, reported Reuters.

The company argued this practice blocks rivals like Opera from equal access and market opportunities.

"Microsoft thwarts browser competition on Windows at every turn," said Opera General Counsel Aaron McParlan. "First, browsers like Opera are locked out of important preinstallation opportunities. And then Microsoft frustrates users' ability to download and use alternative browsers."

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Opera also alleged that Microsoft incentivizes major PC manufacturers to pre-install Edge exclusively, and uses design tactics—referred to as dark patterns—to steer users away from switching browsers.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments.

Why It's Important: The complaint revives longstanding antitrust concerns over Microsoft's dominance in the browser space, dating back to its Internet Explorer era.

In 2013, the European Commission fined Microsoft €561 million ($648 million) for similar conduct, the report said.

Opera is the third-most-used desktop browser in Brazil, with 6.78% market share in June, trailing Microsoft Edge's 11.52% and Google Chrome's dominant 75%, according to StatCounter.

As of June 2025, Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Chrome remains the clear leader in the global browser market, commanding a 68.35% share, according to Statcounter GlobalStats.

Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Safari ranks a distant second with 16.25%, while Microsoft Edge holds 4.96%. Firefox captures 2.37% of the market, followed by Samsung Internet at 2.04% and Opera at 1.85%.

Microsoft is set to announce its quarterly earnings on Wednesday. Analysts are projecting earnings per share of $3.37 and revenue of $73.80 billion.

Price Action: On Tuesday, Microsoft shares inched up 0.014% during regular trading and rose another 0.23% after hours. In contrast, Opera shares fell 3.19% in regular trading but recovered slightly with a 0.55% gain after hours, according to Benzinga Pro.

Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MSFT continues to show strong momentum across short, medium and long-term timeframes, though its value rating remains comparatively low. More performance insights are available here.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.