I'm ditching Firefox & Mozilla after 10 years of blunders

Summary

In a fiery takedown, 'The Linux Experiment' announced a personal decision to abandon Firefox and Mozilla products after a decade of loyalty. The creator is disillusioned with Mozilla's recent terms of use changes for Firefox, which grant Mozilla broad permissions to access and utilize user data more freely. This move, alongside past missteps such as adware integration and dubious strategic priorities, signals to 'The Linux Experiment' that Mozilla is straying too far from its open-source and privacy-respecting roots. The creator is switching to Firefox alternatives and encourages others to reevaluate their trust in Mozilla's products.

Highlights

• Mozilla updated Firefox's terms of use, raising alarms over data access and privacy. 📝
• The creator suspects this data access could be for training AI models or selling to AI companies. 🤯
• Mozilla's history of backtracking on controversial decisions erodes user trust. 🕵️‍♂️
• Executive decisions at Mozilla seem misaligned with user privacy concerns, prompting skepticism. 💼
• Alternative browsers like Waterfox, LibraWolf, and others are recommended for better privacy. 🚀

Key Takeaways

• Mozilla's new terms of use for Firefox grant broad access to user data, sparking privacy concerns. 🔍
• The Linux Experiment calls out Mozilla for not being transparent and trustworthy, particularly with implications towards AI development. 🤖
• A series of past blunders, including unapproved ad trials, raise doubts about Mozilla's commitment to user privacy. 📉
• The creator urges users to explore alternative browsers like Florp and others that respect privacy more seriously. 🌱
• There's a call to action for Mozilla to be more open and transparent to retain user trust. 🛡️

Overview

Here we go again! After years of standing by them, 'The Linux Experiment' has finally decided it's time to part ways with Firefox. The straw breaking the camel's back? Mozilla's recent terms of use for Firefox. It's a move that seems to give them carte blanche access to user data, allegedly for operational needs. While it sounds like standard procedure, the creator sees this as a slippery slope—potentially opening doors to data exploitation and unsanctioned usage.

With Mozilla's new privacy policy feeling more like a data grab, ‘The Linux Experiment’ speculates a hidden agenda tied to AI development. Given Mozilla's public interest in AI, the creator suspects these policy changes might power future AI features within Firefox or, worse, contribute to a dataset for other AI companies. The possibility that this data might be sold under ambiguous definitions is alarming, adding an unsettling layer to this narrative.

In light of these developments, it's no surprise 'The Linux Experiment' is suggesting alternatives. The video encourages exploring Firefox forks like Florp and LibraWolf, known for stripping down Mozilla's intrusive elements. This isn’t just about seeking another browser; it’s a call for accountability and transparency from organizations whose foundational principles were once rooted in open-source freedom and privacy.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction and Firefox Criticism Overview The chapter opens with the speaker returning from a wisdom teeth extraction and expressing their determination to discuss an issue despite the discomfort. The main focus of the chapter is a critique of Mozilla's recent actions concerning Firefox. The speaker explains why they believe Mozilla's latest decision is unacceptable and expresses skepticism towards the company's explanations. Additionally, the chapter promises to revisit previous instances of problematic actions by Mozilla that the community had overlooked or forgiven.
• 01:00 - 02:30: Sponsor: Tuxcare In this chapter, the focus is on the video sponsorship by Tuxcare, a company providing solutions for updating Linux systems without reboots. Tuxcare offers services like reboot-less patching and extensive lifecycle support for various Linux distributions, system libraries, development languages, and software frameworks, including PHP and .NET 6. The mention of .NET 6 signifies its achievement of a certain milestone (possibly its release or major update). Additionally, the chapter hints at a discussion about granting the benefit of the doubt, and situations that may exceed reasonable limits, although these topics are not deeply explored in the transcript provided.
• 02:30 - 08:00: Why I'm Ditching Firefox The chapter discusses the end of support for Firefox scheduled in November 2024. It addresses concerns for those unable to update or port applications to newer versions. Tuxcare is introduced as a solution, providing updates and security fixes for various runtimes and SDKs on both Windows and Linux. For Windows users, the .NET desktop runtime will continue to receive support, ensuring sustained functionality and security.
• 08:00 - 15:00: Mozilla's Controversial Terms of Use This chapter discusses Mozilla's controversial terms of use, focusing on the company's commitment to providing long-term support and security updates for its applications. Mozilla offers an early adopter program, where participants can enjoy endless lifecycle coverage for free temporarily. Once the service is launched publicly, users will receive an additional six months of free security updates and support, allowing them to remain compliant with security obligations until they decide to upgrade to a new version.
• 15:00 - 18:30: Speculations on AI and Data Usage This chapter explores the speaker's decision to move away from using Firefox and other Mozilla products such as Thunderbird, following changes in Firefox's terms of use. Additionally, the chapter touches upon Tux Scar's endless life cycle program relating to software development for .NET 6, Linux distributions, and software development frameworks and languages.
• 18:30 - 23:30: Past Issues with Mozilla The chapter titled 'Past Issues with Mozilla' discusses recent changes to Mozilla's terms of use. As of February 28th, Mozilla updated its terms to grant itself the necessary rights to operate Firefox, which includes processing user data as outlined in its Privacy Notice. A point of contention arises from Mozilla also acquiring a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license allowing it to handle user content input into Firefox. The implications of this change are not extended, leaving some user concerns unaddressed.
• 23:30 - 27:30: Final Decision and Alternatives The chapter titled 'Final Decision and Alternatives' discusses the need for Modzilla to have ownership over user content. This ownership is explained as necessary for the functionality of the browser. For instance, Modzilla needs to access what users type into the browser to execute functions like running a search from the Omni bar or connecting users to their Firefox accounts. Overall, the content ownership is framed as essential for the browser's operation and user experience.
• 27:30 - 30:00: Outro and Second Sponsor Mention This chapter discusses the implications of Firefox's access to user data. It highlights that although the terms do not grant Mozilla exclusive rights, they still allow Firefox to access everything typed in the browser and potentially anything uploaded, raising concerns about privacy and data security.

I'm ditching Firefox & Mozilla after 10 years of blunders Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 hey everyone I'm back from my wisdom teeth extraction so I'll try to do this without popping the stitches if at all possible but I do need to speak about this because Modzilla has done something weird again and I'm done giving them the benefit of the doubt so I'm going to cover what they did inside of Firefox why I think this is the last straw and why I think their explanations really don't hold any water and I also cover every single other time where we gave
• 00:30 - 01:00 them the benefit of the doubt and why this time I think it really is too much but we'll start with this segue to our sponsor so this video is sponsored by tux scare they offer an entire Suite of solutions that let you update your Linux systems without needing to reboot through reboot L patching and they also offer endless life cycle support for Linux distributions for system libraries for development languages and for software development Frameworks like PHP python ring and now net 6 net 6 reached
• 01:00 - 01:30 end of life in November 2024 but if you couldn't Port your applications to a newer version or you simply cannot Port them at all tux scare has you covered they'll keep providing you with updates and security fixes for theet installer the asp.net core runtime the net runtime itself the net SDK all of it both on Windows and on Linux and for Windows users specifically the net desktop runtime is also supported this will let
• 01:30 - 02:00 you keep using the applications you've built for as long as you need so you can stay compliant with your security obligations you can stay secure and you can decide when you need to migrate to a newer version ofet they are also running a limited time only early adopter program where you can get all of that endless life cycle coverage for free right now and when it is actually launched for the general public you'll also gain six more month of free security updates and support so click
• 02:00 - 02:30 the link in the description to learn more about tux Scar's endless life cycle program for net 6 but also for Linux dros software development Frameworks languages and a lot more okay so why the click bity title why am I ditching Firefox as a browser and virtually every single Modzilla product that I'm using including Thunderbird well that started because Firefox introduced some new terms of use recently it's important to note that Firefox just did not have really any
• 02:30 - 03:00 terms of use before February 28th uh which was just last week what they added seems very simple in scope they just say that you give Modzilla the rights necessary to operate Firefox this includes processing your data as they described in the Privacy notice but where the problem is is this this also includes a non-exclusive royaltyfree worldwide license for the purpose of doing as you request with the content you input in Firefox this does not give
• 03:00 - 03:30 Modzilla any ownership of that content this sounds innocuous enough because well it just means yeah we need to be able to access what you actually type and input into the browser so we can actually run the browser so if you type a search in the Omni bar we can run a search with that if you type a URL we can access that URL specifically if you input some settings or some user info in your Firefox account we can actually use it to connect you to the Firefox account
• 03:30 - 04:00 hit your bookmarks this seems like a normal thing to require and this does not give Modzilla any license to own that content it is non-exclusive so you're not restricting yourself from sharing it with other people this does not sound that bad Until you realize that the vague wording also does mean that Firefox has access to everything that you type inside the browser and potentially anything you upload through it because the data or the content that
• 04:00 - 04:30 you upload through Firefox or any website that you access through Firefox is still content that Firefox needed to use so they can provide you with the basic navigation and browsing functionalities so technically with this Firefox has access to virtually every single thing that you do in the browser and they have the right to use it to make the browser work which again is an extremely vague turn of phrase because depending on what they add onto the
• 04:30 - 05:00 browser later they could say that this data is needed to make that thing work and I'm hinting at AI stuff here now the second problem with these terms is that Modzilla has the right to update or terminate this agreement at any time now obviously Modzilla can update these terms the thing is you won't really have to reaccept them they will take your continued use of Firefox as acceptance of such changes meaning that you will not get a notification inside the
• 05:00 - 05:30 browser telling you hey the terms of fuse have changed do you want to comply with them no they're just going to Auto sign you up for whatever they changed inside of those terms which is in a lot of countries as far as I know not how privacy should be handled uh specifically in France and the EU consent has to be explicitly given so if you change those terms of use I don't think keeping using Firefox is a valid way to keep those terms consented to from a user but I'm no legal expert
• 05:30 - 06:00 what's for sure is that Firefox will just update those terms in the background and if you never know what they change then you will have agreed to it implicitly without accepting anything that in my mind makes it totally unacceptable already another sticking point the termination these terms apply until you or Modzilla decide to end them specifically Modzilla says that they can suspend or end anyone's access to Firefox at any time for any reason this
• 06:00 - 06:30 does not seem very compliant with open source or free software because technically for something to be open source or free software which Firefox is supposed to be you can't place extra restrictions on the RS that the license already grants you and this is clearly your restriction because Modzilla can decide to say you don't have any right to use Firefox anymore because some reason now how could they enforce this this is really unclear they can't really get to your house and rip out fire Fox from your computer they probably cannot
• 06:30 - 07:00 even send an update to your Firefox to disable it and block it but that's still not good to have that in the terms of service now Mozilla posted a little update on this because obviously a lot of people were unhappy so they're saying they've seen a little confusion and that they need this license to allow them to make use of some basic functionality of Firefox without it they couldn't use information typed into Firefox it does not give them ownership blah blah blah blah blah and this is a very strange
• 07:00 - 07:30 justification that I just cannot accept as is maybe it's just me but Firefox has been working without any of these authorizations or terms of service for what two decades now almost maybe even more not sure when it released but it was a long long while ago and they didn't need that throughout every single new Privacy Law the gdpr anything else they didn't need to add those terms of service to make use of what you type inside of Firefox so saying that right
• 07:30 - 08:00 now they absolutely need to have those terms of service to have the rights to collect that data and to access it and potentially store it and reuse it just because if not Firefox would stop working that's just not a good excuse it doesn't work because it makes no sense there has been no new law forcing Modzilla to do so there has been no specific privacy complaint anywhere because if it were they would have mentioned it in trying to defend these
• 08:00 - 08:30 terms of use when people got really mad about them so this just doesn't really sound true at all now if it had been just the terms of service maybe we could have brushed that away saying oh yeah maybe the legal context change or maybe they have more careful lawyers but that's not it previously they specifically said that they didn't sell the personal data fusers to advertisers they removed every single mention of this now they just do not mention anywhere that they do not sell that
• 08:30 - 09:00 personal data they also had it directly in the source code of that FAQ page to the answer to the question is Firefox free they used to say we don't sell your personal data now they just say you don't pay anything to use it everywhere where Firefox seemed to mention that they do not sell user data this mention has been removed and Modzilla explained that away as well saying oh you know the definition of selling is very different in different jurisdictions and so for
• 09:00 - 09:30 legal reasons we couldn't really use that term except that's also a really weird justification because first you're not supposed to collect any personal information up to that point that's why you introduced the terms of service to have the right to collect and access that data so you wouldn't really be affected by any definition of the word selling because you didn't have anything to sell no matter how wide the definition of the word selling data is if you don't have any to sell then you
• 09:30 - 10:00 can't sell it which inherently means that if you're affected by these broad definitions you do have something to sell and also I really do not think that the word sell is that misunderstood all across the world really now where everything leads towards is in my opinion AI Mozilla has not made it a secret that they do want to find new sources of revenue while strengthening Firefox and the specific thing that they want to do is to develop trustworthy
• 10:00 - 10:30 open-source AI to ensure their relevance in the midterm and do you know what AI needs to be relevant it's data they need stuff to train the AI model on or they need a big package of data that can be sold to already existing models to help them get better and that's exactly what I think Firefox is preparing to do the fact that they need to they need to collect some user data to make Firefox work is very likely a multi-step plan
• 10:30 - 11:00 what I'm seeing things evolving into is Firefox will add AI features in the browser not as an extension as their current orbit uh browser extension does to add some AI assistance and stuff like that they're going to add that straight into the browser at some point without any extension that's generally what they do they start a site project as an extension and slowly becomes a core part of the browser that's what they're going to do with their AI stuff at that point their terms of use will also include
• 11:00 - 11:30 transparently without you ever noticing it or accepting it by clicking a button those terms of use will include the fact that they're going to use that data to train an AI model or to make the AI features work which will very likely be just firfox selling your browser data maybe anonymized maybe not to AI companies that's exactly what the plan sounds like to me and honestly it would make Firefox into a pretty big provider of browsing data for various AI
• 11:30 - 12:00 companies and it would create a big source of revenue for Firefox to get more independent from Google so either they want to build their own AI tools inside of Firefox or they just are going to plug in AI tools from other vendors and they're going to sell browser data to those vendors there is no confirmation of this this is only my opinion but judging from the moves they're doing this is extremely likely to happen and that's why I really think we need to stop giving modes Zilla a
• 12:00 - 12:30 shot we gave them a pass for a lot of stuff already back at the end of 2023 Mitchell Baker the CEO at the time got a big 23% raise while Firefox was crashing down this was explained Away by saying oh you know to retain high profile high level CEOs that have the guts to do what's needed we need to pay them a lot to be competitive except this never materialized into any good stuff for Firefox on Mozilla the company and the nonprofit just kept crashing as
• 12:30 - 13:00 executive Pace kept Rising which is just not a good look then there was the Privacy preserving attribution stuff which was basically adte that Firefox pushed without any user consent to every single web browser in there without asking for anyone without notifying anyone people freaked out about this because it really looked like Firefox was pivoting into ads and add Revenue based stuff which yeah they tried to do but there was so much backlash that they
• 13:00 - 13:30 forgot they even tried this technology and we haven't heard about this since but they did push it into the browser without warning anyone they even said oh yeah it would have created confusion if we told users about this they would not have understood it was just better to push it silently so they basically said our users are stupid and we just didn't want to alarm them which is extremely patronizing you might also remember the time where MOA added a specific extension in a tie-in with the TV show Mr Robot and this was just pushed again
• 13:30 - 14:00 to their users without any consent They just added an extension immediately to browsers without asking for users uh consent or if they wanted to install that again not a very good thing to do if you want to look like you're open- Source privacy respecting userfriendly you're seeking consent no you're just pushing stuff onto users without asking them if they want to just so you can make a quick bug this does not look good this also we forgave as at the time I think we've been very very patient with
• 14:00 - 14:30 Modzilla as they went through reorg after reorg new exac new board of directors new nonprofit new for-profit new subsidiary for Thunderbird we've really really given them the benefit of the doubt again and again and again the fact of the matter is they're either completely incapable of good communication which I hope is just that I hope they're not nefarious or pivoting into Ai and data selling and becoming
• 14:30 - 15:00 just another spooky spying web browser I hope it's just that but even if it's that we can't keep giving them the benefit of the doubt it's enough it's really more than enough or at least it is enough for me personally and I just do not want to be friendly with Modzilla anymore because they just keep doing that stuff and we keep pading them on the back saying oh you know poor Mozilla they got to do it but no they don't got to do it they are plent plenty of other ways they could be privacy respecting
• 15:00 - 15:30 they really clearly do not want to be a nonprofit anymore and I don't think this is acceptable in the grand scheme of web browsers and how much confidence we can put in them so personally I already moved to florp which is a Firefox Fork uh it is maybe not the best one and I need to check in on what exactly they remove or not there are plenty of other Firefox based browsers that do remove a lot of the Modzilla BS like Libra wolf
• 15:30 - 16:00 like mulvad like Flor like waterfox Pale Moon a bunch of those do remove that and honestly if at that point you wanted to use something chromium based instead because you really do not want to get mixed up with Mozilla anymore I couldn't really blame you I'm not for the chromium Monopoly on the web I do think it's a terrible thing but at that point I just do not trust Mozilla to do the good thing anymore personally at the very least I'll just stop using Firefox
• 16:00 - 16:30 entirely I'll use florp as long as I can and if I see that they keep some of that weird Modzilla touch I will definitely move to something else I will also stop using Thunderbird there have been no specific complaints about Thunderbird but it is a Modzilla thing and I just think I'm done with them I just cannot give them the benefit of the doubt in any of their software so I'll replace it with another email client cuz I'm I'm just done with Modzilla and I really think you should probably stop giving them the benefit of the doubt too but
• 16:30 - 17:00 let me know what you think in the comments do you agree with this do you think this is just another PR miscommunication that we should sweep under the rug let me know what you think and in the meantime I'll leave you with this segue to our sponsor you know about them by now they have toxedo computers they ship laptops and desktops that have Linux pre-installed all the hardware is very very customizable and is specifically picked because it runs really really well with Linux they even contribute drivers to make sure that this stuff really works well they have a
• 17:00 - 17:30 big range of computers that will fit every price point and every need and I personally only use their stuff nowadays all my videos all my podcast everything is recorded edited published and followed and answered and whatever else on one of their laptops and all my gaming needs are done through one of their computers as well running noara Linux so if you need a new computer you want to run Linux on it you want to support a company that actually contributes to Linux click the link in the description below and check out tuxedo computers in the meantime thank
• 17:30 - 18:00 you all for watching you know what to do with the usual YouTube buttons and I guess you'll see me in the next one uh well probably on Saturday bye [Music]