Brussels (Reuters)-The Norwegian company operates, known for its navigator Opera, will file a complaint against Microsoft to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) on Tuesday, claiming that the US giant grants unfair advantage to the Edge browser over competitors.
The measure increases the longtime rivalry between the two companies.
Opera had already filed a complaint to the European Commission in December 2007 on the linkage of the Internet Explorer browser to the Windows operating system. The case ended with an antitrust fine of the European Union of 561 million euros against Microsoft.
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In July last year, Opera filed a lawsuit against the Commission for having exempted the EDGE of the Digital Markets Law, which seeks to limit the power of Big Techs through a list of permitted and prohibited practices.
In the complaint made to Cade, seen by Reuters, Opera claims that Edge’s pre-installation as a standard browser on Windows devices and computers prevent competitors from competing on the merits of their products.
“Microsoft prevents competition between Windows browsers at all times. First, browsers like Opera are excluded from important pre-installation opportunities,” Opera Legal Director Aaron McParlan said in a statement.
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“And then Microsoft frustrates users’ ability to download and use alternative browsers,” he said.
Opera, which claims to be the third most popular PC browser in Brazil, said Microsoft’s alleged tactics include giving incentives to large computer manufacturers to pre-install EDGE exclusively on all its Windows devices.
The Norwegian company also accuses Microsoft of using anti -specific practices such as design tactics or misleading patterns to induce PC users to avoid rival browsers and use the EDGE.
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Opera asks Cade to investigate Microsoft and requires concessions to ensure fair competition.
