Revised Firefox Terms of Use by Mozilla Spark Controversy Among Users Concerning Data Consumption
Mozilla aims to clarify the air: The corporation necessitates a permit “to enable some of the fundamental functionality” of its Firefox open-source browser feasible, but that does not confer it possession of a user’s data.
The elucidation arrives shortly after the company unveiled Terms of Use (TOU) for Firefox, in conjunction with an updated Privacy Notice, articulating that while it has traditionally leaned on its open-source license for Firefox, “we are constructing a markedly disparate technology environment today.”
Firefox TOU: A ‘nonexclusive, royalty-free worldwide license’
The Firefox TOU instigated some bewilderment as its initial phrasing, as cited in The Register:
When you upload or input information through Firefox, you hereby authorize us a nonexclusive, royalty-free, global license to utilize that information to aid you in navigating, experiencing, and engaging with online content as signified by your usage of Firefox.
This wording triggered a flurry of criticism, and Mozilla subsequently deleted that text. “Our primary aim was merely to be as lucid as conceivable regarding how we enable Firefox’s functioning, but inadvertently we stirred up some confusion and apprehension,” expressed Ajit Varma, senior vice president of Firefox product management, in a blog statement on the corporation website Friday.
The new phrasing will now state:
You confer upon Mozilla the rights requisite to operate Firefox. This encompasses processing your data as elaborated in the Firefox Privacy Notice. It also comprises a nonexclusive, royalty-free, global license for the purpose of executing as per your requests with the content you input in Firefox. This does not vest Mozilla with any ownership in said content.
Varma mentioned that Mozilla additionally axed the mention of the Acceptable Use Policy, underscoring that it, too, “appears to be spawning more confusion than enhancing clarity.”
Privacy FAQ has undergone revisions
The corporation has also enhanced its Privacy FAQ “to better tackle legal details concerning terms such as ‘sells,’” articulated Varma. Mozilla elected to provide more extensive reasoning behind why it initiated the alteration in the foremost place, he noted.
“The rationale behind shying away from making sweeping assertions that ‘We never sell your data’ is because, in certain jurisdictions, the REGULATORY interpretation of ‘sale of data’ is comprehensive and continually evolving,’’ Varma clarified.
He appended that for Firefox to be economically sustainable, Mozilla does amass and distribute data with collaborators in “numerous places,’’ embracing the voluntary advertisements on New Tab and delivering sponsored recommendations in the search bar. Varma accentuated that this is itemized in the Privacy Notice.
Nevertheless, the corporation makes every effort to ensure that the shared data is “devoid of potentially identifiable information, or shared solely in aggregated form,’’ he remarked.
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