EU Court Rejects Opera's Bid to Label Microsoft Edge a Gatekeeper

Microsoft Edge has kept its prominent position on Windows without being labeled as a gatekeeper by the European Union's second-highest court. The General Court of the European Union rejected Opera Norway's attempt to overturn the European Commission's decision that excluded Edge from the Digital Markets Act's strict rules.

The EU's Digital Markets Act aims to prevent large tech platforms from using their dominant positions to stifle competition in the region. Opera argued that Microsoft Edge is a crucial link between businesses and users, making Microsoft its gatekeeper. However, the court found that Edge's low usage, at 5.8% of European web page views in December 2022, outweighed its importance.

Microsoft preinstalls Edge on Windows devices, gives it prominent placement on the taskbar, and directs some links to the browser. Despite this, Chrome still dominated Windows computers, with Edge handling only 20-30% of browsing traffic.