According to Mozilla, Microsoft is planning to restrict the capabilities of third-party browsers on the tablet version of Windows 8, called Windows RT. In a blog post, Mozilla expresses great concern over the possibility that Microsoft might restrict browsers other than Internet Explorer from working as a full-featured browser on a Windows tablet. While a third-party browser such as Firefox would still run in the touch-friendly Metro environment, it wouldn’t have access to the Windows “classic” desktop. Consequently, the browser would be cut off from the “speed, stability and security” of a modern web browser, Mozilla says.

“We share the concerns Mozilla has raised regarding the Windows 8 environment restricting user choice and innovation,” Google said. “We’ve always welcomed innovation in the browser space across all platforms and strongly believe that having great competitors makes us all work harder.”