I don’t understand how they are supposed to “sell your data” if you just never use a Mozilla account and uncheck all the telemetry. Its not like they can secretly steal your data, since its Open Source.

It seems to me like just more FUD that Google is spreading to undermine our trust in free software.

  • CameronDev@programming.dev
    12·
    5 hours ago

    The rationalization they have given is that legally, they may have been seeking data all along, as some jurisdictions define it extremely loosely.

    For example, if you use their translation feature, they are sending the page your looking at (data) to a third party, which provides a benefit to Mozilla. Thats technically a sale in some laws, but most would agree that is acceptable given the user asked for it to happen.

    https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/update-on-terms-of-use/

    The reason we’ve stepped away from making blanket claims that “We never sell your data” is because, in some places, the LEGAL definition of “sale of data” is broad and evolving. As an example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) defines “sale” as the “selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, a consumer’s personal information by [a] business to another business or a third party” in exchange for “monetary” or “other valuable consideration.”

    I’m overall concerned with Mozilla, but not sure this is malicious yet. But definitely needs to be closely scrutinized.

    • Swordgeek@lemmy.ca
      1·
      6 minutes ago

      Here’s the crux of the problem.

      Mozilla went from “explicitly not malicious” to “probably not malicious yet.”

      What’s next?

    • CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      3·
      2 hours ago

      The privacy centric way for Mozilla to have address this would have been to:

      • acknowledge laws in certain countries have changed
      • Due to those new laws, the definition of “sell” has changed and Firefox may no longer be in compliance with their desire to keep your data private
      • Commit their desire to take the necessary steps to keep new versions of Firefox in line with their original vision
      • update the “we will not sell” definition to within the jurisdiction of the United States, or indicate that the definition of sell may be different in different jurisdictions
      • make the necessary extensions to jurisdictions where they were “selling” user data, self reporting where necessary
    • notabot@lemm.ee
      5·
      4 hours ago

      The current intention may not be malicious, but it leaves the way open for changes that are to slip in. If they were worried about services like translation being concidered ‘sales’, which is a reasonable concern, they should have split them out of the core browser into an extension and put the ‘might sell your data’ licence on that.

      • CameronDev@programming.dev
        1·
        3 minutes ago

        Yeah, its definitely wide open for abuse now. But the California law also seems way too vague as well. What about DNS lookup? That takes a users input and transfers it to someone else, is that a “sale”? Can hardly start separating that out of the browser? Http requests? Its all users initiated, but is it a “sale” in California? Not a lawyer, haven’t a clue.