Recent searches
Search options
Firefox now has Terms of Use! This'll go over like a lead balloon.
You give Mozilla all rights necessary to operate Firefox, including processing data as we describe in the Firefox Privacy Notice, as well as acting on your behalf to help you navigate the internet. 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.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/legal/terms/firefox/
Update: See below in the thread for their clarification.
@mttaggart not seeing what’s objectionable about the quoted section
@copiesofcopies If I upload my artwork to anywhere via Firefox, have I just granted a royalty-free license to that intellectual property to Firefox, if they deem use of it is in my best interest in "interacting with online content?"
@mttaggart as I read it, you give them a limited license to use that content as needed to do what you’re using Firefox to do. I.e. if you’re uploading an image to a website, you authorize them to do so as you directed.
@copiesofcopies @mttaggart Yeah, that seems more correct.
The last line is pretty telling "..as you indicate with your use of Firefox".
If you didn't indicate that you wanted Firefox to take your artwork then Mozilla doesn't get that permission. They only get the permissions to do what you "indicate".
The other important part is "When you upload or input information through Firefox"
Basically it's just saying that if you indicate that you want to upload a photo to x website, by for example dragging an image into Firefox, then you give Firefox permission to send it to that website you are on.
To rephrase, when you upload through Firefox, you give Firefox the permission to do what you indicated, i.e. uploading.
The true meaning of the quote seem to have blown over @mttaggart 's head like a helium balloon.
@saphkey @copiesofcopies @mttaggart So are all software companies that upload content violating laws by not having this language? Or liable for some lawsuit? FTP software for example?
@rspfau @saphkey @mttaggart I’d call this a conservative approach to address a possible risk. What I will say is that GDPR pretty clearly applies to personal data “processed” by an app, so they might be trying to ensure they’re getting express permission to process personal data contained in user content.
@copiesofcopies @rspfau @saphkey @mttaggart I mean, I am not a lawyer and you are, but I've been around and this is the first time I see that reasoning being applied to a local running program that I chose to run and drive.
However, I do agree that at the scale of Mozilla, there's also a lot of really really really pedantic thinking going on, so they want to rule out any off-chance.
I think the whole thing could have used some use-case communication.
@skade @rspfau @saphkey @mttaggart agree 100%. They obviously tried to communicate the reasons for the new terms, anticipating community anxiety, but they ought to have done more.