Mozilla Introduces New Tool to Explore Issues of Online Privacy
[Source: Ford Foundation, February 28, 2012]
Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs has introduced a new Firefox add-on that will allow users to see how they’re being tracked online. The Ford Foundation's Advancing Media Rights and Access initiative has provided funding to help Mozilla develop this tool, called Collusion, for public use.“Few people realize the extent to which the tracking of our online activities is occurring, and who is doing it. At best, it would make most uncomfortable. And at its worst, it makes many of us outraged, particularly those of us who are parents,” wrote Kovacs on his blog following the talk.
“Collusion will allow us to pull back the curtain and provide users with more information about the growing role of third parties, how data drives most web experiences, and ultimately how little control we have over that experience and our loss of data.”
The Mozilla Foundation is best known as the maker of Firefox, the Web browser used by 450 million people. It has also become one of the world’s largest social enterprises, promoting openness, innovation and opportunity online. Collusion is a key part of Mozilla’s larger goal of reshaping how the Web respects individual agency and choice, and empowering users to have a voice in how their data is used.
Ford is pleased to support Collusion as part of their efforts to promote universal access, open systems and diversity online.
More Information
- Explore the new Firefox add-on Collusion and view the demo
- Read Gary Kovacs’s blog post about the launch of Collusion
- Learn more from the add-on’s developer, Atul Varna, on TED blog
- Follow the coverage on the Houston Press Tech blog and on All Things Digital, both with video
- Read related coverage in Information Week, The Atlantic and Forbes
- Browse our Advancing Media Rights and Access initiative
- Stay tuned for Kovacs’ presentation at TED U, but in the meantime, follow live tweets from TED News and @mozillagary
