A free and open internet shouldn't come at the expense of privacy
Perception of Mozilla’s Privacy Stance
- Many see the blog post title as misleading compared to the substance, which is viewed as Mozilla justifying new browser-integrated ad tech.
- Commenters accuse Mozilla of hypocrisy: promoting privacy while shipping telemetry by default and experimenting with “privacy-preserving attribution” / ad tracking features enabled without explicit consent.
- Some argue Mozilla is effectively pivoting into an ad company and that Firefox now primarily serves this business, creating a conflict of interest with users.
Targeted Advertising, Ethics, and “Fixing the System”
- Strong view that surveillance-based or targeted advertising is fundamentally incompatible with privacy and a “healthy web.”
- Several argue there is no such thing as “ethical ads”; advertising is inherently manipulative.
- Others distinguish between generic/contextual ads (seen as tolerable) and user-tracking-based targeting (seen as the core problem).
- A recurring criticism: you don’t fix a harmful system by becoming part of it; Mozilla is seen as “fighting monsters by becoming one.”
Browser Tracking, Telemetry, and Regulation
- Concerns that Firefox’s default telemetry and new attribution features may violate EU privacy law; reference to a complaint by a privacy group in Austria.
- Some expect EU regulation to be the only realistic lever to restrain large ad-tech players and browser vendors.
Alternatives to Firefox and Engine Lock-In
- Suggested alternatives: Firefox forks (LibreWolf, Icecat, Zen, SeaMonkey), Brave, Orion (WebKit, Mac-only), and future engines like Ladybird and Servo/Verso.
- Skepticism that small projects can keep up with upstream engines or systematically undo tracking-friendly changes.
Economics of the Web and Ads
- Deep disagreement over whether advertising is truly necessary to fund a “free and open” internet.
- Some argue we could live with far less profit-driven content, more user-funded or hobbyist content, and contextual ads only.
- Others counter that, in today’s capitalist framework, large-scale “free” services without ads or paywalls lack a viable, scalable model.
Technical Debate: Cookies and Tracking
- Discussion on whether cookies and privacy can coexist.
- Some propose eliminating cookies and rich browser identifiers to kill targeting; others note this would break many authenticated experiences or just shift tracking elsewhere.
- Consensus that browsers leak substantial identifying data; disagreement on whether technical changes alone can solve the problem versus legal restrictions on data use.