EU's new tech laws are working - small browsers gain market share

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

EU legislation forced Alphabet's Google, Microsoft and Apple to make it easier for users to switch to rivals, according to data provided to Reuters by six companies.

The early results come after the EU's sweeping Digital Markets Act, which aims to remove unfair competition, took effect on March 7, forcing big tech companies to offer mobile users the ability to select from a list of available web browsers from a «choice screen.»

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Browsers are software that help users connect to the internet and are traditionally offered by big technology companies like Apple and Google for free in exchange for tracking which websites consumers visit and selling advertisement to them.

In mobile devices that run Android, Chrome browser comes as default and iPhones with Safari, making them the dominant browsers in the market.

Cyprus-based Aloha Browser said users in the EU jumped 250% in March — one of the first companies to give monthly growth numbers since the new regulations came in.

Founded in 2016, Aloha, which markets itself as a privacy focused alternative to browsers owned by big tech, has 10 million monthly average users and earns money through paid subscriptions, rather than selling ads by tracking users.

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