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Mozilla restores Firefox add-ons banned in Russia (www.theregister.com)

submitted 5 months ago by AnActOfCreation@programming.dev to c/technology@lemmy.world

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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.

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[–] tal@lemmy.today 73 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (15 children)

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.

[–] rottingleaf@lemmy.zip 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

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.

[–] Takios@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 5 months ago

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.

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