0x815Firefox Browser Blocks Anti-Censorship Add-Ons at Russia’s Request
VitalySince russia is a terrorist state I dont really understand why even communicate with them in the first place
It’s not that we want to communicate with the state of Russia, it is so citizens of Russia can see real and true information from the inside and out.
Doesn’t seem to help though
Couldn’t hurt. It’s about the principle of freedom.
History doesn’t really suggest that Russian people think much of that principle. They seem to enjoy living under strong men authoritarian rule.
It’s not about what they enjoy, it’s about what they deserve. People deserve the truth, whether they like it or not. That’s what I believe.
You would be right at home in Russia then
🤨 I think we’re not getting through to each other…
I mean you sound like you watched too many Superhero movies lately with your pathetic screed about what “you believe” LMAO
Believing in the basic human right to freedom and truth is pathetic now?
Let me guess, “believing in something” is “gay” too, am I right?
Quit now before you embarrass yourself further. This is too much cringe.
How old are you? Around the Marvel fan age 12-35?
I’m 37. I’ve always hated superhero movies. More into horror and space/sci-fi.
Are we done here with you trying to berate me? You’re not showing your best colors here, you know. These ad hominems are giving me second-hand embarrassment.
Sorry man, it’s just funny to me when you talk like a character in a trope-y Hollywood movie.
Never mind, move along.
Well, I’m not trying to sound like anything. I’m just telling you a fact, that I believe in such and such. I think you’ve been watching too many movies if you think that someone merely telling you they “believe in something” is a goddamn movie trope… Like, come on.
Maybe when reading the text you’re projecting your own version of what I’m saying with a bunch of intonation and body language and stuff that only exists in your head. But rest assured, I’m not acting all emotional and holding out my fist in the air when I say that I “believe in freedom and a right to truthful information”. I’m merely telling you, with a deadpan look.
All good? 👌
Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s you, it’s all just child’s urine off an old man’s face.
Jesus, man.
It’s definitely you.
uisHistory doesn’t really suggest that Russian people think much of that principle.
1917
Maxnmy'sThis is an unpleasant dilemma. What is the other option? Stick to their principles and let Russia ban Firefox? It’s not ideal but people in Russia can still install add-ons from file.
Agreed - rather give the people there the ability to install this themselves than have them try to block Firefox overall.
Venia SilenteThe problem is, Mozilla is not doing that. The ability install xpis is censored (oh the irony) in retail Firefox.
Is this all true for addons available from Mozilla’s add-on site?
PS: Mozilla had to limit installing addons because lots of companies installed malicious addons into browsers of their users, often without knowledge or informed consent of their users.
Never knew that; this is special of Mozilla.
You keep posting that but it is wrong. Ignoring that disabling installation of unsigned extensions is not censoring, you can install signed extensions via file in every version of Firefox, not only the developer one.
Stupid artificial outrage
nadramWith the same logic, nothing is stopping people to download firefox from alternative sources 🤷♂️ There would be losses in market share (in Russia) had they refused to play along, but now Mozilla spread it’s buttcheeks for governments to impose themselves. Once again, it’s mostly about the money.
Once again, it’s mostly about the money
Do you have evidence or is this pure speculation?
How and why should Mozilla get money from Russia? Isn’t it more plausible that Russia is blackmailing Mozilla?
Wispy2891How and why should Mozilla get money from Russia?
I’m guessing via search engine defaults for that region
(I Don’t actually know if they have a monetary agreement with yandex)
I did not mean that they get paid by governments… loss of revenue comes with loss of market share. You’re not likely to pay for Mozilla VPN if Mozilla cannot offer their services in your country.
DeebsterYou’re forgetting about security updates, which would also be blocked. It’s definitely more of a problem if the whole of Mozilla gets blocked than some plugins that have workarounds and alternatives.
Why? Do they have employees that live there?
Probably, or employees’ families maybe?
“That’s a nice little nephew you got there, it would be a shame if something happened to him “.
“That’s a nice little nephew you got there, it would be a shame if something happened to him “.
cm0002Wow, wtf Firefox? Not even Chrome is blocking some of the add-ons…
Guess enshittification is starting to creep into Firefox now too
God I’m getting sick of that word.
DarkGamerI'm sick of the concept it represents.
Yeah me too, but can we not discuss it in a more nuanced and useful way than just shoving this word into every single post on Lemmy?
If things would stop getting shittier, then yes. I’m not entirely sure that it applies here so I understand your annoyance, but you’re seeing “enshittification” everywhere because we’re seeing the practice of enshittification everywhere. I applaud it being called out. We shouldn’t be seeing higher prices for worse experiences, but that’s the current trend. If you’re tired of seeing the word, then it’d probably be a good idea to take a break from c/technology because I don’t think it’s stopping any time soon.
I think we see it so much because kids on the internet think it’s fun to say. It’s dismissive and stifles meaningful conversation.
I think it describes a phenomenon we’ve seen repeated over and over almost without variation. Every single internet service slowly gets shittier as they switch from investment to returning investment. Everything going back to MySpace and Yahoo Spaces went from awesome to abandoned as soon as they started trying to monetize the platform they built. It’s fair to have a word for that and observing the inevitability.
Does it do any good if it is inevitable? I don’t know. The Fediverse seems to be a direct reaction to it, and I’d like to see more.
I don’t disagree that the word should exist, I’m saying it’s become overused to the point of becoming meaningless. Take this entire thread, for instance. This is not enshittification - yet, here we are.
Alright. It’s fair to point out that it’s not applicable. People do that shit, though. But if it wasn’t so damn applicable all the time, you probably wouldn’t notice and be sick of it.
I’m already two martinis into my evening, so I’m done worrying about it. Cheers, mate.
Fair points all around. Have a great evening!
FaceDeerWe're not, though. The word "enshittification" was coined to describe a very specific kind of shittiness, not just a general "I don't like this development."
Now that the word is being used in the more general sense, though, we've lost a useful way of referring to just that very specific kind of shittiness. We already had plenty of ways to say "I don't like this development" so this is a net loss for the descriptiveness of language.
Besides, this instance isn’t even enshittification anyway.
Enshittification is when a company makes the user experience worse to squeeze more money out of them. This is just government regulation.
Cloudless ☼Still Mozzila Corporation seem to be trying to earn more money by staying in the Russian market.
That’s a stretch.
How else would you explain Mozilla’s decision?
Not really, they’re a for profit company with very little market share and as a result very little wiggle room to, say, be banned from an entire market region
They’re protecting profits over people like so many other companies do. Mozilla Firefox is no savior, they’ll protect their profits just like any other.
Protecting profits isn’t the same as trying to squeeze more profits. If companies were enacting bad policy out of legitimate concern for their business (as is the case here), it wouldn’t necessarily be an issue.
If they get kicked out of the Russian market then those extensions wouldn't be available there anyway.
Darlin’, English, like any language, evolves.
FeelThePowerIt has been since proton imo. only one person in my group is still on the base version of the fox, the rest of us have preferred forks.
ArtVandelayThink about it, pretend you are the Mozilla CEO. You get a request demand from Putin that you block these addons, and you have two options. A) Make a stink and stick to your principles, of which Putin has none, and so you get Firefox banned in Russia altogether. Now, Russians who want to use it cannot, and are forced to use other browsers that Putin can control. or B) Comply with the request, knowing users can still load extensions from the side.
Only one of these two options leads to the possibility of Russians being able to use Firefox with these addons, and it’s B.
Oh and fuck Putin, just because.
skillissuerpeople who were using these addons probably had them installed already, so it’ll only affect new users
When should an organisation stop complying with totalitarian governments? First they stop the extensions.
What if they request for Firefox to add site filters, or else?
What if China demands similar bans for extensions related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet etc?
It can go on and on. Some baselines should not be negotiable.
ripcordThey’ve added a temporary block while they decide what to do.
They chose to comply with the request and become one of the browsers Putin can control. Not sure how Mozilla gets credit for anything good here.
I guess there isn’t a good path here. There never is when Russia is involved. I guess just less bad maybe, I dunno
Firefox was pretty great in 2003 ;-)
Now, Russians who want to use it cannot, and are forced to use other browsers that Putin can control.
Same thought Yandex programmers before they turned it into biggest Putin’s propaganda machine on the internet.
Not even Chrome is blocking some of the add-ons…
is that something you know for sure? or has Google quietly complied with similar requests, without making a statement like Mozilla has here?
It’s in the article
The same four censorship circumvention add-ons also appear to be available for other web browsers without being blocked by the browsers’ web stores. Censor Tracker, for instance, remains available for the Google Chrome web browser, and the Chrome Web Store page for the add-on works from Russian IP addresses. The same holds for Runet Censorship Bypass, VPN Planet, and FastProxy.