Ignoring “continued requests” from Russian media regulators Roskomnadzor and Mozilla explain This week, it will restore local access to five censorship-evading add-ons.
Mozilla withdraws Firefox extensions, including audit tracker and Bypass Runet censorship— in Russia earlier this month, without notifying their developers directly, register First report.
Mozilla told Russian news outlets, citing “recent regulatory changes in Russia” Kommersant On June 6, it decided that the delisting extension would be temporary. At the time, the company said it was “carefully considering next steps with our local communities in mind,” according to an automatic translation of the story.
Mozilla appears to refer to “regulatory changes” Russia March 1 ban Websites and advertisements providing virtual private network (VPN) information. The affected extension can access websites blocked in Russia, including Tor websites and “libraries, encyclopedias, and opposition political websites.” At least two extensions are open source and available at the same time Owned by Microsoft Code repository Github.
Mozilla did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment on its latest decision.
However, in a belated response to the angry comments its support forumusers questioned the company’s Open Internet CommitmentCommunity 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 released on Thursday. “Users should be able to Components are free to customize and enhance their online experience without undue restrictions.”
Like Tor, Russia censors access to a variety of popular websites and services, including porn hub, telegraph, Shutterstock, certain facebook pagesand Google News.
