Internet Explorer's share of the browser market has dipped significantly in Europe since the EC started forcing Microsoft to offer consumers a choice, according to StatCounter.
The research firm says Microsoft has lost 2.5 percentage points-worth of market share in France and 1.3 points in Italy since it began offering users a choice of up to 12 browsers at the beginning of March, Yahoo! reports.
In the UK, the software giant’s share fell by a more modest 1 percentage point.
Microsoft launched the screen after agreeing a deal with the European Union last year to begin offering European web users a choice of browsers, through a “ballot” screen consisting of 12 web browsers.
Mozilla was one of the biggest beneficiaries from the change, adding 50,000-100,000 new Firefox users as a direct result of the ballot screen.
Firefox overtook IE to become the most popular browser in Europe around this time last year, according to StatCounter.
Opera, meanwhile, said it has seen downloads of its latest browser more than double, particularly in Poland, Spain, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and Portugal.
Despite the European losses, StatCounter’s figures show Microsoft’s share of the global browser market has remained steady at 54.5%.
But not everybody on the list is happy with the situation.
Smaller browser developers are still concerned that the ballot box, which lists browsers in a scrollable window, does not immediately make it obvious that the box offers more choices than the few displayed on the left side of the window the Telegraph reported.
Some have complained that their inclusion on the ballot box has not significantly increased their user-base. Others have petitioned the EU to demand the layout of the choice screen be changed to give every browser an equal presence.