Firefox cuts back on the cookies
Tech companies are reacting in myriad ways to government surveillance of online data. Some are calling for more transparency from the government, and some are building new things to give users a better sense of security online. Mozilla’s Internet browser Firefox is in that last category. Firefox moved forward with a plan last week to automatically block third party cookies. As you might guess, advertisers, who rely on those little crumbs of code, aren’t happy.
Alex Fowler, chief privacy officer at Mozilla, says it’s about a bigger question.
“Should we be gathering information on users that aren’t comfortable with [those] data collection practices?” Fowler asks.
He adds that Firefox is simply hoping to provide choices for customers concerned about their data. And while the new privacy enhancement may protect user information from advertisers, he says government surveillance is a different story.
To hear more about Mozilla’s proposal, click on the audio player above.
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