Browser maker decided not to follow Putin's orders. Well done
Mozilla has reinstated certain add-ons for Firefox that earlier this week had been banned in Russia by the Kremlin.
The browser extensions, which are hosted on the Mozilla store, were made unavailable in the Land of Putin on or around June 8 after a request by the Russian government and its internet censorship agency, Roskomnadzor.
Among those extensions were three pieces of code that were explicitly designed to circumvent state censorship – including a VPN and Censor Tracker, a multi-purpose add-on that allowed users to see what websites shared user data, and a tool to access Tor websites.
The day the ban went into effect, Roskomsvoboda – the developer of Censor Tracker – took to the official Mozilla forums and asked why his extension was suddenly banned in Russia with no warning.
“We recently noticed that our add-on is now unavailable in Russia, despite being developed specifically to circumvent censorship in Russia,” dev zombbo complained. “We did not violate Mozilla’s rules in any way, so this decision seems strange and unfair, to be honest.”
Another developer for a banned add-on chimed in that they weren’t informed either.
The internet org’s statement at the time mentioned the ban was merely temporary. It turns out wasn’t mere PR fluff, as Mozilla tells The Register that the ban has now been lifted.
“In alignment with our commitment to an open and accessible internet, Mozilla will reinstate previously restricted listings in Russia,” the group declared. "Our initial decision to temporarily restrict these listings was made while we considered the regulatory environment in Russia and the potential risk to our community and staff.
“We remain committed to supporting our users in Russia and worldwide and will continue to advocate for an open and accessible internet for all.”
Lifting the ban wasn’t completely necessary for users to regain access to the add-ons – two of them were completely open source, and one of the VPN extensions could be downloaded from the developer’s website.
That would suck if these people ban Firefox, it’s already hard to traverse the net as it is with every other website declaring “we have banned you cus you live in a wrong country lol”
This is stupid cause it will simply cause Firefox to be banned. The devs should just host it somewhere else and teach the user to run external extensions.
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That would suck if these people ban Firefox, it’s already hard to traverse the net as it is with every other website declaring “we have banned you cus you live in a wrong country lol”
What are principles worth if you won’t stand for them?
Good luck banning things from the internet for very long…
It would only take 1% of the russian population to decide it’s time for change.
Prigozin and friends tried, then changed their minds when their families and friends got threatened.
It’s not easy being that 1%, when there is another 1% benefitting from things staying as they are.
Difficult, but worth it!
Same with the US.
The maga cult is trying with no success because their orange god is weak.
Far more success than I’d care to see, imo
This is stupid cause it will simply cause Firefox to be banned. The devs should just host it somewhere else and teach the user to run external extensions.
Firefox getting banned, and more people having to learn where to download the whole thing, might be more positive in the long run.