Mozilla defies “persistent demands” from Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor Said The company announced this week that it was restoring local access to five censorship-circumventing add-ons.
Mozilla has removed Firefox extensions, including Censorship Tracker and Runet censorship evasion— in Russia earlier this month, without direct notice to developers Registry This is the first time it has been reported.
Mozilla told Russian news media that the reason was “recent regulatory changes in Russia.” Kommersant The company announced on June 6 that the decision to delist the extension was temporary. At the time, the company said it was “considering our local community and carefully considering our next steps,” according to an automatic translation of the article.
Mozilla appears to be referring to “regulatory changes” Russia’s March 1st Ban A list of websites and advertisements providing information about Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). The affected extensions provide access to websites blocked in Russia, including Tor sites and “libraries, encyclopedias, and opposition political sites.” At least two of the extensions are open source and Microsoft Owned Code repository Github.
Mozilla did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment on the decision.
but, Support forumusers said. Open Internet PledgeCommunity and developer relations manager Edward Sullivan said Mozilla will restore access to the extension.
“We remain committed to supporting our users in Russia and around the world, and will continue to advocate for an open and accessible internet for all,” Sullivan said in a statement posted on Thursday. “Users should be able to freely customize and enhance their online experience through add-ons without excessive restrictions,” the statement added.
Along with Tor, Russia censors access to a wide range of popular sites and services, including: Pornhub, telegram, Shutterstock, A specific Facebook pageand Google News.
