Mozilla caves to public and restores Firefox add-ons banned in Russia that circumvent Russian censorship

Mozilla has reinstated certain add-ons for Firefox that earlier this week had been banned in Russia by the Kremlin.

The browser extensions, which are hosted on the Mozilla store, were made unavailable in the Land of Putin on or around June 8 after a request by the Russian government and its internet censorship agency, Roskomnadzor.

Among those extensions were three pieces of code that were explicitly designed to circumvent state censorship – including a VPN and Censor Tracker, a multi-purpose add-on that allowed users to see what websites shared user data, and a tool to access Tor websites.

The day the ban went into effect, Roskomsvoboda – the developer of Censor Tracker – took to the official Mozilla forums and asked why his extension was suddenly banned in Russia with no warning.

[…]

“In alignment with our commitment to an open and accessible internet, Mozilla will reinstate previously restricted listings in Russia,” the group declared. “Our initial decision to temporarily restrict these listings was made while we considered the regulatory environment in Russia and the potential risk to our community and staff.

“We remain committed to supporting our users in Russia and worldwide and will continue to advocate for an open and accessible internet for all.”

[…]

Source: Mozilla restores Firefox add-ons banned in Russia • The Register

(see also: Mozilla Firefox Blocks Add-Ons which Circumvent Censorship in Russia)

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