Bonum Certa Men Certa

Mozilla's Strategy: More Lawyers and Spam, Not More Engineers

They send me stuff before even asking me if I accept an embargo (I do not; we reject NDAs and information embargoes from greedy corporations)

moz-spam

Summary: Mozilla has been contacting a load of people, asking them to generate inane hype over a useless hire by a notoriously wasteful CEO

They're hiring lawyers from firms that attack programmers, just like they hire managers from Facebook while they promise us privacy:

Hi Roy,

Hope you’re well. I am writing with embargoed news for Monday, September 12, 2022 @ 9:00 a.m. ET to give you a heads up that Mozilla has hired a new Chief Legal Officer:

Carlos Torres will lead Mozilla’s global legal and public policy teams, developing legal, regulatory and policy strategies that support Mozilla's mission. He will also manage all regulatory issues and serve as a strategic business partner helping Mozilla accelerate its growth and evolution.

Carlos comes to Mozilla from Flashbots where he led the company’s legal and strategic initiatives. Prior to that, he was General Counsel for two start-ups and spent over a decade at Salesforce in a variety of leadership roles including VP, Business Development and Strategic Alliances and VP, Associate General Counsel, Chief of Staff. He also served as senior counsel of a biotech company and started his legal career at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Let me know if you’d be interested in mentioning this in your newsletter on Monday? For your convenience, here is a link to our blog with the announcement (Note: the blog post will go live when the embargo lifts on Monday). I’ve also shared a draft of the announcement below. Thanks,

Cherie




DRAFT UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 9 am ET 9/12

Announcing Carlos Torres, Mozilla’s new Chief Legal Officer

Mitchell Baker

I am pleased to announce that starting today, September 12, Carlos Torres has joined Mozilla as our Chief Legal Officer. In this role Carlos will be responsible for leading our global legal and public policy teams, developing legal, regulatory and policy strategies that support Mozilla's mission. He will also manage all regulatory issues and serve as a strategic business partner helping us accelerate our growth and evolution. Carlos will also serve as Corporate Secretary. He will report to me and join our steering committee.

Carlos stood out in the interview process because of his great breadth of experience across many topics including strategic and commercial agreements, product, privacy, IP, employment, board matters, investments, regulatory and litigation. He brings experience in both large and small companies, and in organizations with different risk profiles as well as a deep belief in Mozilla’s commitment to innovation and to an open internet.

“Mozilla continues to be a unique and respected voice in technology, in a world that needs trusted institutions more than ever," said Torres. "There is no other organization that combines community, product, technology and advocacy to produce trusted innovative products that people love. I've always admired Mozilla for its principled, people-focused approach and I'm grateful for the opportunity to contribute to Mozilla's mission and evolution."

Carlos comes to us most recently from Flashbots where he led the company’s legal and strategic initiatives. Prior to that, he was General Counsel for two start ups and spent over a decade at Salesforce in a variety of leadership roles including VP, Business Development and Strategic Alliances and VP, Associate General Counsel, Chief of Staff. He also served as senior counsel of a biotech company and started his legal career at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

-- Cherie Crosby

she/her/hers 518.321.2144

cherie.crosby@berlinrosen.com


It's worth noting that the email itself contained surveillance; Mozilla Thunderbird warned about it. So the PR firm chosen by Mozilla is spying. This is where Mozilla's money goes.

"Notice that their links is to AWS and not to Mozilla," an associate noted. "More can be said about the embargo or lack thereof."

I never spoke to Mozilla, so they're clearly mass-mailing hundreds if not thousands of people with this (without following the correct protocol; you must first verify an embargo is accepted by the recipient).

Only they know the extent of the distribution and notice the screenshot at the top. Even Mozilla's own email client does not like it.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
 
Links 20/09/2025: Retrocomputer, Antique Phone Experience, and More
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Seem to Have Had Only One Litigation Client in 2025, He Was Previously Charged, Just Like the Serial Strangler From Microsoft (Whom They Now Represent)
Karma is superstition, regulators are not
Project 2030 to Cover How "Project 2025"-Styled Anti-Media Zealots From America Targeted Techrights and Tux Machines
The common denominator is also their attacks on women
Brett Wilson LLP Failed to Meet Deadlines Set by Judge 7 Months Earlier, Tried to Ruin Our Holiday, Then Had the Audacity to Ask Us for Over 3,000 Pounds for Its Own Lateness
As a matter of principle we will never respond to assassin while we are on holiday
On Claims That After Bluewashing Red Hat Will Increasingly Become an Indian Company
Discussed this week (long and detailed)
Americans Attacking British Sites Only Months After They Leave America
We find it kind of funny if not ironic that this site, originally an American site, got legal harassment only from Americans and only months after it had moved to the UK
Despite Losing Over a Quarter Million Dollars a Year Software in the Public Interest (SPI) Gives Helping Hand to Libreboot
SPI's financial state depends a lot on its public image or its reputation
Slopwatch: Google Helps Plagiarism and Sends Traffic to Ripoff Artists
That Google as a company helps spamfarms is noteworthy
If You Want to Know the Future, Listen to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Andy Farnell
We're sure the FSF will have plenty of its own output
Links 18/09/2025: A Taliban Ban on Internet Access and Troubled US Job Market
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/09/2025: Computer Literacy and Accessing Alhena's Database
Links for the day
Links 18/09/2025: US War on Media (Truth Banned, Cancel Culture by the Hard Right), NYT Chief Executive Warns Cheeto is Deploying ‘Anti-press Playbook'
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 17, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 17, 2025