Mozilla Is Becoming a Villain

by DD

April 28, 2025

"You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
— Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight

Mozilla, once a beacon of open-source integrity and digital privacy, now finds itself at a crossroads that may push it into the very category it once sought to oppose.

The Origins of Mozilla

Founded in 1998 by key figures from Netscape, Mozilla was created to advance the development of the Mozilla Application Suite—an open-source alternative to Netscape Communicator. As AOL wound down Netscape, Mozilla shifted its focus toward independent free and open-source software applications, most notably Firefox and Thunderbird.

In 2007, Mozilla published the Mozilla Manifesto, outlining ten key principles that underscored its commitment to an open and secure internet. Among them were:

• Principle #4: "Individuals’ security and privacy on the internet are fundamental and must not be treated as optional."
• Principle #8: "Transparent community-based processes promote participation, accountability, and trust."

For many years, these values defined Mozilla's mission, making it a trusted force in the industry.

Struggles with Funding

Mozilla's main source of revenue has long been its agreement with Google, which pays for Firefox to feature Google Search as its default search engine. However, as Mozilla struggled to establish a sustainable financial model, it became increasingly reliant on corporate goodwill—especially from Google.

In 2024, an antitrust court ruled that Google is a monopolist. Given Google's historical support for Mozilla, this ruling raised concerns that restrictions might reduce or even eliminate Google's funding of Firefox. Facing an uncertain financial future, Mozilla may have begun making decisions that stand in direct contrast to its foundational principles.

A Shift in Priorities

In February 2025, Firefox introduced new Terms of Use stating:

"When you upload or input information through Firefox, you hereby grant us a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that information to help you navigate, experience, and interact with online content as you indicate with your use of Firefox."

The privacy implications of this statement appear to conflict with Principle #4 of the Mozilla Manifesto, while the vague language and broad definitions may contradict Principle #8's call for transparency.

Further exacerbating concerns, these terms grant Mozilla the authority to terminate the agreement at any time, raising fears that Firefox could ultimately refuse users' access.

Quietly Redefining Privacy

Mozilla has also removed key assurances about user data privacy:

• The statement "Unlike other companies, we don’t sell access to your data" was removed from Firefox documentation (GitHub source).
• The FAQ section no longer states that Firefox "doesn't sell your personal data."
• Another FAQ response, which once proudly declared:
  "Nope. Never have, never will. And we protect you from many of the advertisers who do. Firefox products are designed to protect your privacy. That’s a promise."
  —has now vanished from Mozilla’s website.

The Opening of the Floodgates?

These changes raise serious concerns about Mozilla's future stance on user data collection. Some speculate that Mozilla may be preparing to monetize user data or use it to create datasets for training AI models.

Regardless of the motivations, one thing is clear: Mozilla is no longer the unshakable defender of digital rights it once was. Whether this marks a necessary adaptation for survival or a complete departure from its ethical roots remains to be seen—but many users are watching, wary of what may come next.