this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2025
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Which parts do you disagree with? I'm not talking about websites selling your data after you access them through Firefox, I'm saying that now - with new definitions of "sale"/"sell" - that Firefox giving anybody any data for almost any reason can be legally construed as "selling". This isn't just the case for Firefox, it's the case for literally any web browser, and anything that can access the internet for any reason.
Yes, I thought about including the fact that Firefox does engage in ad-based revenue, and I suppose I should've, but Firefox is pretty upfront about this and allows users to opt out of targeted advertising - and this has been the case since long before this past week or two. These ads only appear on the "new tab" page, and only if you consent to seeing them. Anybody who's dropping Firefox for this recent controversy seens to be missing that. It's very possible (and personally I think it's likely) that nothing at all has changed from within Firefox.
This comment reads differently to me than the one of yours I replied to. When you said:
Regardless, I agree with what you've just said more. My argument is moreso that Firefox has been selling data (so nothing really has changed with them), but now they're being required to state that they're selling data. I get that Mozilla doesn't want to be lumped in with "selling data" groups, because it can be done in very extremely different manners with varying levels of invasion on privacy. But I also think they should have been more up front about where they get some of their revenue, and not tried to be like "We never sell your data" while literally having sponsored suggestions (both on the new tab page, and website suggestions in the address bar).
As for what the current drama impacts on this? Nothing, really. Other than they are being required to disclose that they sell data, and their getting backlash because they've been trying to pretend they don't. Now that they're lumped in with the "data selling" corporations in peoples minds (even though they're very different than google), who knows if that will give them the extra room to be a bit more invasive with their data collection. They've already crossed the largest PR hurdle, so the future incremental changes would be much easier. There's no guarantee, but with traditional enshitification, it wouldn't surprise me.