Opera Loses DMA 'Gatekeeper' Legal Challenge over Microsoft Edge
The court said the browser was not an important gateway for businesses, leaving Microsoft Edge outside the bloc’s strictest tech rules.
- On Wednesday, the General Court rejected a challenge by Norwegian browser maker Opera against the European Commission's 2024 decision to exempt Microsoft Edge from Digital Markets Act gatekeeper rules.
- While Edge met the DMA's quantitative thresholds, the European Commission previously determined the browser does not constitute an important gateway for businesses to reach end users.
- The General Court agreed that Edge relies on the Blink browser engine, which reduces Microsoft's autonomous control over key service aspects, limiting its gatekeeper potential.
- Nineteen years after a 2007 complaint led to a €561m fine against Microsoft, Opera has failed to secure similar regulatory action against the company's current browser.
- This ruling in Case T-357/24 clarifies how the DMA applies to specific services, contrasting with recent enforcement actions like the €890m fine recently issued against Google for breaches.
14 Articles
14 Articles
EU Court Sides With Microsoft on Edge, Leaving Windows Browser Choice in Limbo
The EU General Court rejected Opera's challenge, upholding the Commission's view that Microsoft Edge fails to qualify as an important gateway despite meeting DMA numerical thresholds. Low usage, shared engine architecture, and limited ecosystem effects convinced judges to keep the browser outside strict gatekeeper rules. Microsoft scores a narrow win while rivals warn the status quo harms choice on Windows PCs. The decision reinforces high hurdl…
Opera loses court challenge against EU exemption of Microsoft's Edge from DMA rules
Norwegian browser maker Opera on Wednesday lost its court challenge against EU antitrust regulators' decision to exempt Microsoft's browser Edge from rules reining in the power of Big Tech.
Opera loses EU court fight to have Microsoft Edge labelled a gatekeeper
Microsoft Edge will stay outside the European Union’s toughest tech rulebook. The bloc’s General Court on Wednesday rejected Opera’s challenge to the European Commission’s decision not to designate the browser as a gatekeeper service under the Digital Markets Act. The Luxembourg-based court ruled that the Commission “did not err by accepting Microsoft’s sufficiently substantiated arguments […] This story continues at The Next Web
Microsoft's Internet browser Edge in the European Union does not have to comply with the tougher rules of the Digital Markets Act. The EU Court of Justice confirmed the Commission's assessment on Wednesday in Luxembourg. A complaint by the competitor Opera was not successful.
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