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Removing Firefox tool resisted by Mozilla
2011-05-16
Mozilla, the non-profit developer of the Firefox browser, is holding off on going along with a govt request to get rid of a program intended to circumvent Fed. efforts at restraining Web robbery. The Office of Homeland Security has been seizing the Net addresses of sites charged with robbery, so that visitors can't reach them by typing in those domain names. The sites nonetheless, still exist under other addresses. The MafiaaFire tool for Firefox, developed by an exterior party but available thru Mozilla, tries to immediately match snatched names with the alternate addresses, like a mail-forwarding service, so that visitors can reach the sites. Mozilla General Counsel Harvey Anderson declared the DHS asked Mozilla to get rid of MafiaaFire from a site where Firefox users can add functions to the browser. Anderson asserted the group is waiting for additional information from the governing body before taking positive action. It wants to find out whether the tool is not legal, and whether or not it is legally responsible to take it down. Anderson claimed Mozilla complies with legal remits, but has not received any court order, and the DHS has not replied to Mozilla's questions. The order raises issues about when firms should consent to central authority censorship requests, Anderson claimed in an article Thursday. Anderson announced the govt is saying the MafiaaFire tool by-passes a court order to disable sites that distribute copyright-protected content, including live sporting and pay-per-view events. The DHS didn't make a response to calls for comment.
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