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

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Has Un-cancelled the Best People, Just in Time for the Big 4-0
Mr. Oliva should have been there all along (since 2019)
Most "Modern" Technology Makes You Slower and Dumber
Because proprietary software makes you worse off
"What Comes After Free Software?" Wrongly Insinuates We've Reached the Goal (Prison is Not the Goal)
The oil tycoons use similar tactics against environmentalists, giving them fake "wins"
Making More Work Space
I learned the hard way that less is more in circumstances where more means distraction
MAHA is a Lie, Public Officials Never Valued Citizens' Health (They Still Value Private Businesses, Their Sponsors)
Reject demagogues
New Techrights Turns 2
Today starts the third year of the SSG-based Techrights
What Scares Them the Most is Independent News Sites That They Cannot Control and Censor
Wikileaks was a good example of this
If You Don't Control Your Online Platform, Then Someone Else is Controlling You
be (or become) independent
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Has a Policy on Racism and Sexism
In then future we'll show the misogyny and racial slurs
Links 22/09/2025: Murdochs Might Join Fentanylware (TikTok) 'Investors' (Masters), United Kingdom Recognises Palestinian Statehood
Links for the day
 
The Complaint About Brett Wilson LLP - Part II - UK SLAPPs for Americans, SLAPPs for Profit
Brett Wilson LLP has a track record of this kind
Mayday: Optus emergency calling crisis
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 23/09/2025: Massive Data Breach, Slop Versus Productivity, and Vista 11 Update Breaks Things Again
Links for the day
Code of Censorship
Extortion is peace
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Has a New Press Kit for the Weekend After Next Weekend (40th Anniversary)
miles better than social [sic] media [sic] quips, moderated by narcissists and oil tycoons.
Microsoft Had Two Waves of Mass Layoffs This Month (That We Know of) and It'll Get Worse for Microsoft Soon
Will the axe fall again by month's end?
Gemini Links 23/09/2025: Happy Equinox, Photronic Arts, and Perception Cognition
Links for the day
Lessons We've Learned After 17 Years of American Hosting
GAFAM is "all-in" with the "Trump agenda"
Back to Normal Now, We Plan to Do More In-Depth Series (or Multi-part Stories)
Articles (or series thereof) that contain philosophy are important to us
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 22, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, September 22, 2025
Microsoft Media is Panicking Amid Mass Layoffs Every Month, H-1B Fees, and "Seattle’s Tech Scene in Trouble"
In "late stage Microsoft", copyleft becomes proprietary
The Next Wave of IBM/Red Hat Layoffs Being Discussed Already
Red Hat is sort of disappearing the way Tivoli did
Oracle Started This Year With Slop. Then It Stopped.
Passing fads are like this
Distros That Run on PCs Made 20 Years Ago and Don't Use Systemd
Betas for now
The Complaint About Brett Wilson LLP - Part I - Abusing British Women on Behalf of American Men Who Abuse American Women
Transparency is important to us, so we've decided to make this series
Slopwatch: Google News and the Evident Slopfarm Infestation
This is what people get about Linux when they query Google for Linux
Gemini Links 22/09/2025: Esperanto Music History and Apps For Android
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2025: More American 'Censorship' (Retaliation for Journalism), Cheeto "Might Be Losing His Race Against Time"
Links for the day
The Blob Slop
Give me more words, give me some text
The 50-Pound Note Experiment and the "War on Cash"
Britain is actually seeing a rebound in cash payments, and it's not a temporary phenomenon
Slopwatch: Blaming the Victims for Microsoft's Failures and Plagiarising Phoronix
That's what Google has been reduced to: slop and slopfarms
Links 22/09/2025: Breaches, Windows TCO, and Arrests
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/09/2025: Rabbit Hole and DeGoogling Fairphone
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2025: Russian War Planes Invade NATO Airspace While Dihydroxyacetone Man Escalates Attack on Free Speech Because of Critics
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 21, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 21, 2025
Links 21/09/2025: "Hey Hi" (Hype) Under Fire, Fakes Identified; Tesla Burns Family
Links for the day
Google's Software is Malware and Malware in Mobile Devices
Originally posted by Rob Musial
Links 20/09/2025: Hegemony Coming to a Close, Luigi Mangione Ruled Not Terrorist
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/09/2025: "Charlie Kirk Was a Hateful Piece of Shit" and Slop Code Attempted by Microsofter
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 20, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 20, 2025