Mozilla has reinstated certain add-ons for Firefox that earlier this week had been banned in Russia by the Kremlin.
The browser extensions, which are hosted on the Mozilla store, were made unavailable in the Land of Putin on or around June 8 after a request by the Russian government and its internet censorship agency, Roskomnadzor.
Among those extensions were three pieces of code that were explicitly designed to circumvent state censorship – including a VPN and Censor Tracker, a multi-purpose add-on that allowed users to see what websites shared user data, and a tool to access Tor websites.
The day the ban went into effect, Roskomsvoboda – the developer of Censor Tracker – took to the official Mozilla forums and asked why his extension was suddenly banned in Russia with no warning.
"We recently noticed that our add-on is now unavailable in Russia, despite being developed specifically to circumvent censorship in Russia," dev zombbo complained. "We did not violate Mozilla's rules in any way, so this decision seems strange and unfair, to be honest."
Another developer for a banned add-on chimed in that they weren't informed either.
The internet org's statement at the time mentioned the ban was merely temporary. It turns out wasn't mere PR fluff, as Mozilla tells The Register that the ban has now been lifted.
"In alignment with our commitment to an open and accessible internet, Mozilla will reinstate previously restricted listings in Russia," the group declared. "Our initial decision to temporarily restrict these listings was made while we considered the regulatory environment in Russia and the potential risk to our community and staff.
"We remain committed to supporting our users in Russia and worldwide and will continue to advocate for an open and accessible internet for all."
Lifting the ban wasn't completely necessary for users to regain access to the add-ons – two of them were completely open source, and one of the VPN extensions could be downloaded from the developer's website.
Fuck Russia
Fuck Russian politics and policies* I like to believe that most Russians just want to live and drink vodka
I'm more of a medovukha kind of guy, but yes, indeed, we do. Thank you for saying this
The old saying goes that Russian history can be summarized as "And then it got worse." The Russians are victims of their own history, and they are the first group that Putin terrorized (quite literally with the known false flag operation).
They have such a rich culture and truly bright minds. There could be wonderful scientific collaboration and cultural exchange. I'd love to see a technological rivalry reminiscent of the cold war (without all the proxy fights and nuclear threats and animosity).
I hope that it'll be in my lifetime where we're able to sit down and drink beer and vodka together and be on friendly terms as countries.
I'm American and I just want to live and drink vodka.
I want not to drink, but use 70% vodka as safe solvent. And live.
I can't imagine what it's like to not to be able to live honestly without getting disappeared.
Feels lonely, most of all. I don't fear the cops or ex-wagners I walk past every time I go to the store. It's the radio silence in once popular channels whose owners were "disappeared", and friends either in exile or too scared to even go out, that makes me feel devastated.
Depending on how the US elections go in November, Americans may soon find out.
Like the boeing whistleblower or Epstein "suicide" ?
That's not disappearing. That's blatant killing.
Disappearing is sudden government abduction with no paper trail. You criticize the government and then all a sudden, your colleagues and friends don't know what happened to you and can't contact you.
It's an important difference. Disappearing is more ominous and has a greater chilling effect. The government isn't putting you in a comfortable hotel, and they aren't killing you silently. They're torturing you for punishment and for information, and threatening your family. It's far more sinister.