Mozilla wants to clarify the record: the company needs a license “to make part of the basic functionality” of its open -fox open source browser, but that does not give it the property of a user's data.
The clarification occurs days after the company introduced the terms of use (Tou) for Firefox, along with an updated privacy notice, explaining that, although historically it has been based on its open source license for Firefox, “we are building a very different technological landscape today.”
Firefox Tou: a 'non -demanding world license, royalty free'
The Firefox Tou caused some confusion because initially read, as cited in the registry:
When loading or enters information through Firefox, it gives us a non -exclusive world license, royalty free to use that information to help you navigate, experiment and interact with online content by indicating with its use of Firefox.
That phrase triggered a storm of fire, and Mozilla subsequently eliminated that language. “Our intention was to be as clear as possible about how we make Firefox work, but in doing so we also create some confusion and concern,” AJIT VARMA wrote, vice president of Firefox Product Management, in a blog post on the company's website on Friday.
The new language will now be read:
You give Mozilla the necessary rights to operate Firefox. This includes processing your data as we described in the Firefox Privacy Notice. It also includes a non -exclusive world license, royalty free already worldwide with the purpose of doing what you request with the content you enter in Firefox. This does not give Mozilla any property in that content.
Varma said Mozilla also eliminated the reference to the acceptable use policy, explaining that “it seems to be causing more confusion than clarifying.”
Frequent privacy questions have also been updated
The company has also updated its frequent privacy questions “to better address legal thoroughness around terms such as 'Sells', wrote Varma. Mozilla decided to provide more details about why the change made first, he said.
“The reason we have moved away from making general statements that” we never sell your data “is because, in some places, the legal definition of” data sale “is broad and evolved,” Varma explained.
He added that for Firefox to be commercially viable, Mozilla collects and shares data with “several places” partners, including optional ads in the new tab and provides sponsored suggestions in the search bar. This is established in the privacy notice, Varma said.
But the company strives to ensure that the data it shares is “stripped of potentially identification information, or only shared together,” he said.
