Bonum Certa Men Certa

Age of Digital Deception: Startpage, Mozilla and the Linux Foundation Are Enemies of Your Privacy

For the time being use Searx, available under the GNU Affero General Public Licence version 3

There’s Whitewashing, Greenwashing & now also Privacywashing
Reference: There’s Whitewashing, Greenwashing & now also Privacywashing



Privacywashing memeSummary: Mozilla's biggest income source is still 'surveillance capitalism' (Google), the Linux Foundation is in the pockets of 'surveillance capitalism' (to 'whiten' the practice) and Startpage has been handed over to 'surveillance capitalists' (System1); the business model is leveraging personal data (secrets) to manipulate/oppress people

Mozilla's privacy issues have long been documented here. Mozilla loves talking about privacy, but anyone who has paid close enough attention is aware of all those scandals and 'accidents' or 'gaffes' (i.e. times Mozilla got caught red-handed and then changed course). We covered similar privacy issues associated with DuckDuckGo and recently Startpage as well (System1 took it). What about "Linux"? Well, many are aware of the "scopes" scandal of Ubuntu/Canonical (we wrote about that too) and a few other things, e.g. Linspyware. The Linux world, not to be mistaken for GNU, does not guarantee privacy. It barely even speaks about the subject.



"The Linux world, not to be mistaken for GNU, does not guarantee privacy. It barely even speaks about the subject."There are 'fashionable' buzzwords for spying, along with euphemisms like 'telemetry' or 'data science' (making these seem like some sort of scientific research project). But that's not the subject of this post. Days ago we wrote about the Linux Foundation's participation in 'surveillance capitalism' businesses, which are also funding it as "members" (clients). So far this week we keep seeing lots of puff pieces and keep stock/track of it all at Tux Machines. This latest one from Packt Hub says that "the Linux Foundation introduced a new policy around the collection and usage of telemetry data."

"This kind of openwashing merely serves to associate "Linux" with evil."They mean 'monetisation' (exploitation and sale), as the Foundation itself puts it in the site. It's 'surveillance capitalism'; it's a classic! That's just surveillance being whitewashed by the Foundation and it is embarrassing to Linux. It disgraces the project's name. This kind of openwashing merely serves to associate "Linux" with evil.

But here's the most interesting new find.

"Thought you might be interested in this Reddit thread," one reader told us. Here's the gist, a System1 "Web Developer (Browser Developer)" job ad (we've made this local copy as the ad will vanish one day):

Just ran into this ad for a Web Developer (Browser Developer). Seems like System1, a pay-per-click ad company based in Venice, California, is aiming to take on Mozilla Firefox and maybe even Brave. Here's an excerpt:

Have you ever build any of the most popular open-source browsers like Brave/Chromium/Firefox?

Would you be excited to the idea of setting up build pipelines for an open source browser?

System1 is hiring a Web Developer (back-end development) to join our team. This is a diverse role that will involve “hacking” on the Mozilla platform, mostly on the backend. You will work with experts who know the Mozilla platform inside-out, while being a key contributor to novel open-source products which already have a passionate and growing user base.

Key goals for this role: Keep a “classic” version of the browser up-to-date with security patches; update components where possible and create better compatibility with legacy add-ons for the newer version of the platform that supports them. Build system work is required for this role sometimes, but that’s one of the fun parts!



Yet one more artefact of the "privacy gold rush." It's happening. Eyes open.



The top comment says: "So, is this implying that you get an “up to date” browser in exchange for spying on you? I am working under the assumption that the search engine for this new wonder-browser will be Startpage with modifications to track the browser by some serialized ID embedded in it that is only readable by Startpage, so that only Startpage can identify you, yet they get to collect and sell your profile/personal information."

"Mozilla's dependence on selling your privacy is a matter of public record; they keep trying to distract from it by -- just like GAFAM -- constantly talking about how much they value your privacy."Another says: "Did System1 invest in Mozilla or another company that already has these "experts" and a "growing user base"? We need to start asking all privacy services if they have new investors/owners and evaluate their trustworthiness. Now that privacy is popular with consumers, even behavioral ad tracking companies may want "in" on the money -- if just to "privacy wash" or hedge their privacy invasive services. System1 has already invested in the Startpage privacy search engine, and it seems the Chairman of System1 has bought into some security products."

There's lots more in there (17 comments). Very interesting comments.

There might be a role there for Mozilla and others. As one person put it, "I wonder if they're creating a new browser based on Mozilla? Could they be working with Mozilla or another company? It does refer to "products which already have a passionate and growing user base." It also claims to have people who know Mozilla inside and out.

"The Linux Foundation now has several projects (at least 3) whose main role is openwashing surveillance at the datacentre. Great for the Linux brand, eh?""I believe we have to start asking all privacy services if they have been sold or gotten new investors -- especially ones that previously worked against privacy in fields like consumer behavioral ad tracking and targeting."

Mozilla's dependence on selling your privacy is a matter of public record; they keep trying to distract from it by -- just like GAFAM -- constantly talking about how much they value your privacy. They don't actually manage to fool technical privacy proponents, who shoot back at them and shoot down the PR; seeing the above speculation, Mozilla's Vice President hire from Facebook starts to make sense. Remember that Facebook itself keep talking about how much it values people's privacy. If only...

The Linux Foundation now has several projects (at least 3) whose main role is openwashing surveillance at the datacentre. Great for the Linux brand, eh?

Recent Techrights' Posts

Speed of GNU/Linux
The media seldom speaks of the dangers of "proprietary software"
Proprietary Windows Versus "Linux" News (Trying to Keep People on Windows, Never Exploring GNU/Linux)
Good editors know better how to recognise threats and not give them lip service
Ensuring That Every Computer User Anywhere in the World Can Take Control of All His or Her Computers
We must fight the people who attack general-purpose computing, in particular those who push this agenda very aggressively inside Linux
Gemini Links 28/04/2025: Autism and Structural Navigation
Links for the day
What Happened to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) Elections: The Purge, the Cover-up, and the Witch-hunts
OSI has gone "full Microsoft"
 
Links 28/04/2025: Canada's Election, Pakistan-India Conflict
Links for the day
Glue Inside Your Pizza (or Why People Will Get Fed Up With Slop)
People are given "answers" from non-intelligence word dumpsters
Links 28/04/2025: Cyberattacks Happening, Chatbots Disappointing, and "Free Speech Under Fire"
Links for the day
Phone Adoption Very Low in Vatican, Windows Usage Fell Nonetheless
Even in places where people still use desktops/laptops most of the time (and have access to these) Windows is gradually losing ground
GNU/Linux 9% in Cuba, Vista 11 Waning, Android Dominant
Microsoft has pretty much lost Cuba
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 27, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, April 27, 2025
In 24 Countries Observed by statCounter Vista 11 is Still Less Than a Quarter of Windows Users Despite All Other Versions Being 'Expired'
They ought to move to GNU/Linux
Links 27/04/2025: Pope Goodbyes, "Politics of Fear", Slop Redux and More Google Shutdowns (Google Debt Had Grown This Year)
Links for the day
Links 27/04/2025: Serenity Dialectics, Hockey Jersey Ethics, and More
Links for the day
Links 27/04/2025: Death of Nest Thermostats, Death of Metaverse
Links for the day
Links 27/04/2025: Projects Workflow and Discovering Technology
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 26, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 26, 2025
Microsoft Isn't on the Map in USSR
To them, it's either Google or Yandex
In Central America Windows Became a Small Force
These are countries where Windows used to have well over 95% of the "market"
What's Very Vexing to GAFAM, EPO and Others Is That It's Incredibly Hard to Censor Us (and Nobody Ever Successfully Did That Before)
resist, do not capitulate
Site May be Even Faster Now
It basically takes less than a tenth of a second to serve the page
Receiving SLAPPs and Collecting Them Like Trophies (the SLAPPs Always Fail)
People who file lawsuits bring even more attention to themselves (or to embarrassing statements about them)
Year of GNU/Linux on the Laptop?
It's not happening only in Lenovo
What People Must Understand About the Open Source Initiative (OSI)
some facts about the Open Source Initiative (OSI)
Many of the Scandals Are Interconnected (Overlapping People and Corporations)
We're only getting started
More Copyright Lawsuits Against LLM Slop Providers and Suppliers of LLM Slopfarms Would Benefit Society
It's not just bad for the Web and for society; it's also legally dangerous
Links 26/04/2025: General Assassinated in the Town of Balashikha, US Promoting Seafloor Mining
Links for the day
Links 26/04/2025: Facebook Layoffs Again, Remembering What's Real, and Say No to Mass Surveillance
Links for the day
Links 26/04/2025: NOAA Budget Cuts and "Dog Days Ahead"
Links for the day
In defence of JD Vance, death of Pope Francis
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Three Years in Prison for Disney Employee’s ‘Menu Hacking’: The Economic Fallout of Digital Menus
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 25, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 25, 2025