Firefox could go out of business without Google search deal
What's the story
Mozilla CFO Eric Muhlheim has voiced fears for Firefox's future, considering the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) proposals to curb Google's search monopoly.
"It's very frightening," said Muhlheim, who testified before a court yesterday.
The DOJ is advocating restrictions on Google's payments to make it the default search engine in third-party browsers, including Firefox.
This comes after a court ruling found Google has an illegal monopoly in search with exclusionary deals.
Financial dependence
Firefox's revenue heavily reliant on Google
Muhlheim revealed Firefox makes up for nearly 90% of Mozilla's revenue. He further said that nearly 85% of this revenue comes from its partnership with Google.
The CFO warned losing this major source of income could result in "significant cuts across the company."
He also warned of a possible "downward spiral" if Mozilla had to cut investment in product engineering for Firefox, making it less appealing.
Unique
Mozilla's Gecko browser engine stands out
Muhlheim emphasized that Firefox's underlying Gecko browser engine is "the only browser engine that is held not by Big Tech but by a nonprofit."
This differentiates it from Google's open source Chromium and Apple's WebKit.
The CFO said Mozilla built Gecko to keep Microsoft from controlling all internet protocols, to ensure interoperability between different browsers, and to prevent any one company from monopolizing web access.
Alternative options
Mozilla explores alternatives to Google's partnership
Muhlheim said replacing Google's revenue isn't as easy as getting a deal with another search engine provider or an exclusive/non-exclusive deal with Google.
Mozilla has spoken with Microsoft about Bing taking Google's place as the default search engine.
However, Muhlheim cautioned that without Google being able to compete for this contract, the revenue share Mozilla could negotiate would likely decrease.
Previous experiences
Mozilla's past attempts to switch default search engines
In a December 2024 presentation to Mozilla's board, the firm warned that losing Google's payments posed a "significant threat to viability for Mozilla with limited ability to mitigate."
A 2021-2022 study conducted by the company revealed that users who switched their default search engine from Google to Bing generated less revenue for Mozilla.
This is similar to Mozilla's previous attempts between 2014 and 2017, when it made Yahoo the default on its browser.
Company position
What does Mozilla want to do?
Muhlheim admitted that it would be ideal not to depend on a single customer for the majority of its revenue, no matter how the court rules in this case.
He also noted that another browser company, Opera, has already been able to earn more money from browser ads than it does from search deals.
However, he added scaling such a business at Firefox may look different due to its privacy-preserving approach to products.