Why is the CMA asking us to choose the furniture before the house? The UK’s search choice screens need browser choice screens alongside them
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority proposes search choice screens on Android devices, but Mozilla argues browser choice must accompany them to ensure users select their preferred tools from the outset.
Mobile browsers serve as the primary internet gateway for 56 million people in the UK, with users spending significant daily time within these apps. Most rely on preinstalled browsers set as defaults without ever choosing them. Mozilla highlights that this lack of active selection undermines user agency in a critical digital tool. The CMA’s latest proposals aim to address search provider choice but currently overlook the browser selection process entirely.
The CMA’s updated plans would require Google to display search choice screens on new Android devices, including default search apps and widgets, as well as in Chrome updates for existing users. The proposals also consider eligibility for AI assistants to appear alongside search engines. Mozilla’s 2023 experiment demonstrated that browser choice screens can effectively guide users toward browsers they intend to keep, with 98% of participants supporting their implementation.
The CMA’s research indicates that preinstallation, default settings, and prominent placement restrict browser competition. Its proposals for search choice screens include randomized provider positions, a mandatory scroll-to-confirm step, and a minimum one-week trial period for users to test a provider. The CMA has also acknowledged the evolving role of AI assistants in search, expanding eligibility criteria to include web-searching AI tools that attribute sources.
Mozilla emphasizes that browser choice should not be deferred, citing the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which introduced browser choice screens on iOS and paired them with search choice during Android setup. In Japan, both browser and search choice screens are presented on iOS and Android, with Firefox being selected via a DMA choice screen once every ten seconds and retaining users five times more effectively than organic downloads.