Microsoft is pulling the plug on Internet Explorer

Microsoft wants to send its Internet Explorer 11 in the current version largely into the digital retirement next year. On June 15, 2022, support for Internet Explorer 11 will end for the majority of applications, the company said. Microsoft now completely relies on the Microsoft Edge browser, which is based on Chrome. Internet Explorer had gradually lost its importance over the past few years as competing browsers such as Google's Chrome or Apple's Safari took over. According to the web analytics firm Statcounter, Internet Explorer accounted for less than 2 percent of the global browser market for desktop computers in April. Chrome had a market share of over 65 percent, ahead of Safari with around 10 percent. Microsoft Edge reached 8 percent. More than two decades ago, Internet Explorer was still very popular and almost had a monopoly. It played an important role in the "browser war" against Netscape and in the US government's antitrust litigation against Microsoft. A federal judge ruled that Microsoft was using anti-competitive means to maintain its monopoly on operating system software and attempted to monopolize the web browser market by illegally tying its Internet Explorer browser to its Windows operating system. This practice resulted in the use of Netscape Navigator, once a dominant browser, to decline significantly from 1995 to 1998. In the end, Netscape fell by the wayside. Microsoft reached a settlement with the Justice Department in 2001. The browser market now only plays a subordinate role for Microsoft.