Mozilla’s report targets the tech giants’ control over web browsers
A small group of tech giants are using deceptive design features and other tactics to maintain their dominance of the Internet browser market — to the detriment of consumers, according to a new report published Thursday by rival provider Mozilla.
It marks the latest push by smaller tech companies to drum up support for tighter regulation of Silicon Valley giants’ behavior.
It zeroes in on the impact the tech industry’s focus has had on browser engines, the often-overlooked software that turns digital code like HTML into what users experience in Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox and other browsers.
Only three companies currently offer major browser engines, according to the findings: Apple, Google and Mozilla. And because Apple’s engine is largely limited to its own products, Mozilla wrote, that left developers and consumers with limited choices.
The result, according to the report, is “centralizing control of the Internet in the hands of a single company and creating a single point of failure for security and privacy.”
“We wanted to shine a light on it and explain that if you don’t have browser engine diversity, then they’re all built from the same build engine, and therefore you’re tied to the same company,” he said. Kushal Amlaniglobal competition and regulatory advice for Mozilla.
The review also features a survey of how residents across countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as the United States, use browsers, which the report says highlights troubling trends.
The survey found that while most users expressed confidence in “having a wide choice of browsers and knowing how to install a browser on their device,” that many “never install a browser on their device and even fewer report changing their default.” Mozilla surveyed over 6,000 Internet users in the United States, UK, France, India and Kenya in March and April.
Amlani said the results suggest “people have concerns” about their browsers, “but they don’t necessarily act on them” and switch products.
Mozilla argued that the use of so-called “dark patterns” — deceptive or suggestive design features intended to lead users to certain product choices — is a key reason.
According to the report, the ability of consumers to switch browsers has been “suppressed for years by Internet choice architecture and commercial practices that benefit platforms and are not in the best interests of consumers, developers, or the open web.”
Google and Apple have dropped charges that they limit user choice and stifle competition through their Chrome and Safari web browsers.
After rival search engine DuckDuckGo accused Google of manipulating browser extensions to favor its own products, the company said in response that “Chrome users can directly change their default search settings at any time.” Google has also previously said that people choose Chrome because it’s “fast, secure and offers the best experience”.
Apple has shrugged off criticism of Safari, saying the company “has every interest in supporting a strong ecosystem of third-party browsers and web applications and will continue to promote innovation and choice while ensuring that user privacy and security are protected”.
The companies did not immediately return a request for comment on the report early Thursday.
Allegations of a lack of competition in the browser market are increasingly being factored into antitrust investigations by regulators globally.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said in June it was looking into competition between browser developers as part of an antitrust investigation into Google and Apple.
The European Union’s sweeping new competition rules, known as the Digital Markets Act, also target practices by tech giants that could strengthen their browser dominance.
But Amlani said more scrutiny is still needed, particularly about how factors such as the focus on browser engines and the use of dark patterns exacerbate each other.
“I think it’s an important point for people to look at pieces of the whole picture, and what we want to do is build that whole picture so that people can connect the dots themselves,” he said.
Next, he said, Mozilla plans to turn its attention to developing “remedies” and submitting proposals to address the issues outlined in the report.
Florida asks Supreme Court to evaluate social media bill
Florida’s attorney general asked the court to determine whether the First Amendment bars states from requiring platforms to keep certain posts, and whether states can force companies to explain to users when they take down posts. Cat Zakrzewski and Will Oremus report. It puts the most serious test yet to claims that big tech companies are illegally censoring conservatives.
“The decision could have far-reaching effects on the future of democracy and elections, as technology companies play an increasingly important role in the distribution of news and information about politics,” write Cat and Will.
The petition comes in response to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit this year, which found that key parts of Florida’s law, which would have barred firms from banning politicians, violated the Amendment first. The petition included a recent decision by the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which upheld a Texas law that prohibits companies from removing posts based on political ideology. Florida’s petition says the Supreme Court should resolve the differences in the two rulings, which it said were in conflict.
Attorney General of Florida Ashley Moody (R) did not respond to a request for comment. Industry group NetChoice, which filed the original lawsuit to block Florida’s bill along with the Computer and Communications Industry Association, said the Supreme Court should weigh in.
Civil rights groups attack social media firms for not doing enough to combat election disinformation
Five dozen civil rights organizations implored the parents of Facebook Meta, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube to strengthen content moderation systems that civil rights organizations believe allowed Trump’s baseless election-rigging claims to spread. but with less than two months until the midterm elections, members of the Change the Terms coalition say they have seen little in the way of a response from companies, Naomi Nix reports. In the memos, the coalition said Facebook parent Meta still allows posts that support the idea that the 2020 election was stolen, Twitter’s ban on 2020 disinformation is not being consistently enforced, and YouTube is not investing enough resources to combat problematic language content. other than English. .
“The comments by civil rights activists shed light on the political pressures tech companies face behind the scenes as they make important decisions about which potentially rule-breaking posts to keep or remove in a campaign season in which hundreds of countries in the congress they are ready for capture”, writes Naomi.
Social media companies defended their practices.
- YouTube enforces its “policies consistently and regardless of the language the content is in,” YouTube spokeswoman Ivy Choi said in a statement.
- TikTok has responded to the coalition’s questions and appreciates the “shared goals of protecting the integrity of elections,” said TikTok spokeswoman Jamie Favazza.
- Twitter is focused on promoting “credible election information” and “vigilant enforcement” of its policies, Twitter spokeswoman Elizabeth Busby said.
- Facebook spokesman Andy Stone declined to comment on the coalition’s claims, but he pointed to a news release in August about how the company said it planned to promote accurate election information.
Senators urge top intelligence official to review Apple’s plan to use Chinese chips
A group of senators from both parties asked the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to review the security threat posed by Apple’s plan to use memory chips from Chinese chipmaker YMTC in the new iPhone 14, Ellen Nakashima reports.
Apple previously said that YTMC chips are not used in its products and that it was “evaluating” whether to use the chips for some iPhones sold in China. All user data stored on such chips is “fully encrypted,” the company said. The company reiterated to The Post that it was not planning to use the chips in iPhones sold outside of China. She declined to comment on the letter.
But senators fear the phones could enter the global market, according to a Senate aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the record.
The senators also want Haines to look into what they said was YMTC’s role in helping other Chinese firms, including telecom equipment maker Huawei, which is under strict US export controls. Ellen. “And they want her to examine YMTC’s alleged ties to the Chinese military.”
Co-founder of Google Larry PageFlying vehicle startup Kittyhawk is shutting down, though the news won’t affect its flying taxi joint venture with Boeing, the Wall Street Journal reports. journalism Casey Newton:
journalism Plush mill:
Kittyhawk’s slogan was “if anyone can do it, we can” – they were one of the most compelling companies in the autonomous flight space. it’s sad to see a company with so many good employees close, but potentially a statement about where this all really stands https://t.co/5BS70E02KC
— Hazel Southwell (@HSouthwellFE) September 21, 2022
TikTok tightens policy on political issues ahead of US midterms (The Guardian)
Microsoft won’t label fake news as fake in an effort to avoid calls of ‘censorship’ (Bloomberg News)
Ex-employees say TikTok is bleeding US executives because China is still calling the shots, ex-employees say (Forbes)
Meta quietly cuts staff to cut costs (The Wall Street Journal)
Instagram is finally working to protect users from unwanted nude photos (The Verge)
- Sens. Christmas cinema (D-Ariz.), John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) speak at an event on semiconductor legislation hosted by Arizona State University and the Washington Business Journal today at 10:30 a.m.
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