Mozilla restores Firefox add-ons banned in Russia
Mozilla restores Firefox add-ons banned in Russia
Browser maker decided not to follow Putin's orders. Well done
- Mozilla has reinstated previously banned Firefox add-ons in Russia that were designed to circumvent state censorship, such as a VPN and a tool to access Tor websites.
- The ban was initially imposed at the request of Russia's internet censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, but Mozilla lifted it to support an open and accessible internet.
- Mozilla's decision reflects its commitment to users in Russia and globally, despite the potential risks associated with the regulatory environment in Russia.
Russia is 100% going to force local ISPs and local VPN developers to block Mozilla domains.
That said, good for Mozilla for doing what’s right, even if it means their installed base will get decimated in Russia.
I guess it's worth it when the other option is to basically become a state controlled tool that doesn't offer any good for the Russian people.
I’m more worried that this will give malicious non-state actors and, worse still, the Russian government easier access to Russian citizens seeking the ability to look behind the veil. The result of this repression will be inexperienced folks downloading an exe and quietly being logged as a dissident or innocent people finding their information compromised or hardware hijacked. Sourcing clean, difficult to track downloads of these addons and Firefox will become important in the near future.
I'm wondering where all the people that filled the other threads complaining about how Mozilla was evil and "enshittifying" are, now.
There's nothing to be outraged about, so I guess not here.
I was one, I'll admit it and I'm glad I was wrong
As far as why? Because FF/Mozilla positions themselves as THE browser for privacy and "For the people", but Mozilla is also a for-profit company so I'm always expecting the worst out of them just like I have for so many other for-profit companies
Just look at Canonical, they're pursuing an IPO RN and are already in the early stages of enshittification because of it.
I was one . And I am glad to have been wrong .
God, I hate fanboyism. Maybe, maybe the criticism was warranted? idk just a thought. If someone fucks up everyone can point it out. Of course there are always people who will defend and deny anything no matter what… like star citizen fans or hardcore apple fans
Now we can see that they corrected some of their mistakes, very good
But nah some ripcord must try to stir shit instead of enjoying the good news. Apparently being still salty about bad comments smearing their favourite company…
Yeah well Mozilla is probably on of the more ok things to fanboy if someone absolutely can’t live without that but it’s still a bit cringe
Let them be on the wrong side of history lol I simply do not understand people who go out of their way to attack Mozilla/firefox. It’s baffling.
I was one too. Glad they caved to the criticisms and reinstated the extension. It doesn't absolve them of removing it in the first place and trying to pull a sneaky, but at least they listened.
Where are we now? Well wherever we are it sounds like us internet moaners stay winning.
That's one way of viewing it i guess. My guess would have been that an organization like Mozilla has to make sure what the consequences are for not complying, and after they figured out there was no real danger they did the right thing.
It's easy to say they should always do the right thing, but they have to keep in mind their own safety, and that of their project too, it's not an easy thing to balance.
Well, the sole idea that they accepted this in the first place is a pretty bad sign.. anyway, firefox is still the best option we have
They...didn't. As they said, and keeps getting repeated over and over here, they temporarily disabled it while they figured out their options. I'm guessing involving lawyers.
Then they decided.
I hate to say it, but I'm inclined to think that the Russian government may simply block access to Firefox (and the Firefox addons site).
https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share
Firefox has 2.82% marketshare as of May 2024. It'd create disruption to block it, but I'd expect that that's probably low enough that it's not in the "too big to kill" category.
If it were 2010, then yeah, I'd say that the price to pay for blocking Firefox is maybe one that's too high for the Kremlin to be willing to pay.
What's really clobbered Firefox has been the rise of smartphones, where Firefox has very limited uptake.
I use Firefox on both my phone and desktop, so I can say that it's definitely usable...but it's not the default. Google owns Android and uses their browser as the default, and Apple owns iOS and uses their browser as the default. I would bet that a very low proportion of smartphone users are ever going to seek out and install a different browser, and Firefox can only really compete for the users who are willing to do that.
I hate to say it, but I’m inclined to think that the Russian government may simply block access to Firefox (and the Firefox addons site).
Probably true, but that's not justification for Mozilla to save them the trouble by doing it for them.
What's really clobbered Firefox has been the rise of smartphones, where Firefox has very limited uptake.
That's fucking crazy, because Firefox has been far better than the default options for as long as I've had a smartphone. I only recently dumped chrome on desktop for Firefox, but I took one look at Chrome when I got an android and immediately dumped that shit.
They did that a few times before without any warning, which is why I'm inclined to think it's Mozilla using the situation for PR. I mean, why not, if the Russian government presents them with an opportunity.
In that case why block the add-ons in the first place? There is a risk that the "Mozilla is blocking privacy friendly add-ons on the behest of an authoritarian regime!" news will become more widely known than any correction. If it had been a planned PR move then any person involved in it should never work in marketing again.
Wow. That was a lot more temporary than I anticipated.
They did say they were just doing it temporarily until they looked at options and figured out what to do.
But yeah, it's nice it didn't take long to decide.
I think it was an intentional PR action.
Since they can't be afraid of their services getting blocked in Russia, they've been a few periods already without any warning.
I'm glad to hear that!
Some Mozilla execs are going to get tossed out of windows.
Can we know the name of this mysterious addon by now? Are the authors of these reports afraid to be poisoned by putin if they say it?
They’re threatened by Russia.
Did you read past the headline? They're restoring add-ons banned by the Russian government, defying Russia.
Teeeechnically that could mean Russia is threatening them over it, in which case they are threatened by Russia. But that's just me being a pedantic pain in the ass before bed.