Comment by foresto
1 year ago
> Mozilla grants you a personal, non-exclusive license to install and use the “Executable Code" version of the Firefox web browser, which is the ready-to-run version of Firefox from an authorized source that you can open and use right away.
Does this mean these Terms of Use apply only to precompiled binaries downloaded from Mozilla, and not to copies built from source code by linux distributions?
> 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.
Does this mean they're allowed to collect data that we transmit through Firefox to the sites we visit, so long as they can come up with some justification that they're using it to "help" us?
> Every once in a while, Mozilla may decide to update these Terms. We will post the updated Terms online. We will take your continued use of Firefox as acceptance of such changes.
This kind of one-sided nonsense is something I have come to expect from the likes of Google or Facebook.
I don't know how all this will shake out, but my initial impression leaves me with waning respect for Mozilla.
This commit looks particularly bad:
https://github.com/mozilla/bedrock/commit/d459addab846d8144b...
Notably, this was deleted from the Firefox FAQ on 2025-02-25:
> Does Firefox sell your personal data?
> 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.
> Does this mean these Terms of Use apply only to precompiled binaries downloaded from Mozilla, and not to copies built from source code by linux distributions?
I think it applies if the browser is "Firefox" in name and branding. So the Debian rebuilds count for example.
So recompile and remove the Firefox branding and the ToU should definitely no longer cover you.
> Does this mean these Terms of Use apply only to precompiled binaries downloaded from Mozilla, and not to copies built from source code by linux distributions?
Yes. They couldn’t legally enforce anything for the second, except when it pertains to using Mozilla online services. Many of the Linux packages have all telemetry disabled though