Mozilla CFO Eric Muhlheim testified on Friday that Firefox could be put out of business should a court implement all the Justice Department’s proposals to restrict Google’s search monopoly. The DOJ wants to bar Google from paying to be the default search engine in third-party browsers including Firefox. The court has already ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly in search because of exclusionary deals that make it the default engine on browsers and phones.
Currently, Mozilla derives about 90% of its revenue from search partnerships, with approximately 85% of that coming from Google alone. In the 2021–2022 fiscal year, Google's payments accounted for 86% of Mozilla's total revenue, amounting to $510 million out of $593 million. Without this substantial income stream, Mozilla would face severe financial challenges, potentially leading to significant layoffs and the scaling back of its operations.
The DOJ's antitrust case against Google, which has already resulted in a ruling declaring Google a monopolist in the online search market, could lead to remedies that disrupt Mozilla's current revenue model.
While the ruling does not yet include specific remedies, the potential changes could force Mozilla to find alternative search partnerships, such as with Microsoft Bing. However, previous attempts to switch default search engines, including a shift to Yahoo between 2014 and 2017, led to user dissatisfaction and browser abandonment.
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