After feeding users backlash against last week’s new terms of service, Firefox browser maker Mozilla has rewritten its policy to address issues with the overly broad language they previously used. Critics said the term implies that Mozilla asks users for rights to data they enter into their browser or uploads.
Mozilla said it wasn’t and said the new term does not represent a change in the way the company uses its data. The company also said that updates to the original language were not driven by requests to sell user data, and that the company’s ability to use the collected data is still limited by the rights mentioned in the Firefox Privacy Notice.
Many critics pointed out the following language in new terms as the source of concern (our emphasis):
When you upload or enter information through Firefox, we offer a non-exclusive, royalty-free, global license that helps you navigate, experience and interact with online content using that information, as demonstrated in your use of Firefox.
Now, Mozilla has rewritten the terms of use to “more clearly reflect the limited scope of how Mozilla interacts with user data,” Mozilla’s product chief Ajit Varma said in an announcement shared before the weekend.
The updated policy makes it clear that Mozilla is seeking user data to operate Firefox, which makes it clear that it does not provide ownership of that data.
Specifically, the new term states:
Give Mozilla the necessary rights to run Firefox. This includes processing your data, as explained in the Firefox Privacy Notice. It also includes a non-existent, royalty-free, global license for the purposes of making requests using content entered in Firefox. This does not grant Mozilla ownership of the content.
Mozilla also says it has removed the terms of acceptable usage policy as it is causing confusion.
The company’s online privacy FAQ has also been updated to better explain Legalese.
For example, Mozilla said it may have removed blanket’s claims that it would not sell user data because the legal definition of “selling data” is “widely evolving.”
The company noted that the CCPA defines consumer personal information as “selling” orally or by any other means, and that the CCPA defines “selling” as “selling” and that the CCPA defines the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as an example of why the language has changed. [a] Business to another business or third party in exchange for “money” or “other valuable considerations.”
Firefox collects and shares some data with its partners, Mozilla said, which will help enhance the ads of options on new tab pages in your browser, and offers sponsored suggestions in the search bar detailed in the Privacy Notice. However, the company says that the user data they share will be stripped of personal identification information and will only be shared in aggregation.
Users can continue to adjust their own data sharing settings in their browser, Mozilla said.
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