Mozilla, the developer of the Firefox browser, decided to revise its recent change on its Terms of Use, written in broad language after receiving backlash from critics and the community.
The previous update on Terms of Use said this, especially with the emphasis on the first part (in bold):
“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.”
Due to the language used in the Terms of Use update, people became cautious and concerned about their privacy and whether Mozilla will use user data for training AI or be sold to advertisers/ AI companies.
After fending off the criticisms, Mozilla decided to rewrite its Terms of Use and explained that they were not “driven by desire” to sell user data and that it remain true to its principles in its manifesto, including:
- Your security and privacy on the internet are fundamental and must not be treated as optional.
- You deserve the ability to shape the internet and your own experiences on it — including how your data is used.
- We believe that practicing transparency creates accountability and trust.
Since language is seen as the culprit for all the confusion, Mozilla released a rewritten Terms of Use that may reflect the limited scope of Firefox’s interaction with user data:
“You give Mozilla the rights necessary to operate Firefox. This includes processing your data as we describe in the Firefox Privacy Notice. It also includes a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license for the purpose of doing as you request with the content you input in Firefox. This does not give Mozilla any ownership in that content.”
As you’ll notice in the updated Terms of Use, Mozilla clarified the purpose of asking for users’ data, which is for operation and does not give them ownership.
Mozilla, in its updated terms of use, also reiterated that they don’t sell user data:
“TL;DR Mozilla doesn’t sell data about you (in the way that most people think about “selling data”), and we don’t buy data about you. We changed our language because some jurisdictions define “sell” more broadly than most people would usually understand that word. Firefox has built-in privacy and security features, plus options that let you fine-tune your data settings.”
While the debate on what Mozilla tries to say maybe “resolved” on the company’s end, it seems like it’s still a hot topic in the community, like in this Reddit thread.
One redditor said “The rewrite of the terms of service changed nothing…” and that Mozilla is gaslighting its users. Others defended Mozilla, emphasizing the difference between right of use and ownership and stating that the web browser doesn’t have unlimited right of use.
Maybe the lesson from this Mozilla Term of Use controversy lies in the language and how the policy was written.