[e-privacy] Firefox 2.0, google e la privacy

[Cyberiade.it Anonymous Remailer]

http://www.privacy.org/archives/001871.html

Firefox 2.0 was launched by the Mozilla Foundation yesterday - and
immediately generated a storm of protests over privacy issues. Key to
privacy concerns is that Mozilla have set up their long-awaited phishing
protection feature on Firefox 2.0 - but to use it properly, you have to
send Google a record of every single website you visit.

http://www.platinax.co.uk/news/26-10-2006/firefox-2-releases-privacy-storm/

The much anticipated Firefox 2.0 was launched by the Mozilla Foundation
yesterday - and immediately generated a storm of protests over privacy
issues.

Key to privacy concerns is that Mozilla have set up their long-awaited
phishing protection feature on Firefox 2.0 - but to use it properly, you
have to send Google a record of every single website you visit.

A cookie will record all your behaviour data when using Firefox and
provide the information free to Google, who can then use that
information for their own commercial purposes.

Although, the feature does require an explicit opt-in, it’s an unwelcome
trade-off for many Firefox users, who believe that there is no reason to
tie-in phishing protection with providing free data to a billion-dollar
multinational.

The concerns may be damaging to the Mozilla Foundation - who have long
had a close relationship with Google - and who became a “for-profit”
business last year.

The provision of free tools and services simply for the purposes of
collecting user data has become a habit with Google in recent years, and
especially raised privacy concerns - not simply on the data collection,
or how it may be used - but also how it may be collected by government
agencies.

However, the overall situation is that Google are probably not actually
doing anything in terms of data collection and retention than many other
major Internet Service Providers are already doing.

Microsoft, Yahoo!, AOL, Amazon, and telecoms companies already store and
retain vast amounts of private and often personally identifiable data,
via their own service provisions, which are then used for commercial
purposes.

The simple truth is that online privacy is already a mess, and that
internet users are simply are often not allowed to determine how their
personal data may be collected, used, or processed.

While privacy issues online have yet to reach a Tipping Point, it’s
clear that the latest collaboration with Google by Mozilla, may be seen
to be a million-dollar company selling out its users for profit.