Firefox could be doomed without Google search deal, says executive
1 min read
Summary
The CFO of Mozilla has given evidence that if the courts enforce the Department of Justice’s proposals to break up Google’s search monopoly, it could put browser owner Mozilla out of business.
The proposals include prohibiting Google from paying to be the default search engine on third-party browsers, including Firefox.
Mozilla’s CFO estimates that 85% of the company’s revenue comes from its deal with Google.
The executive warned that Mozilla would have to make “significant cost cuts and strategy changes” if it lost that revenue, possibly forcing it to end its nonprofit operations.
The Mozilla CFO also said the organisation had explored the possibility of making Bing the default search engine, but it would generate less revenue.
Bing offers lower revenue share compared with Google, and the switch would also lead to a worse user experience, the CFO added.