Firefox users have encountered difficulties downloading extensions from the addons.mozilla.org (AMO) directory that allow for bypassing Roskomnadzor's restrictions. On the pages of four popular extensions that facilitated this bypass, attempts to open them from Russia now display a page with information about the access ban based on the user's region. The developer of one of the blocked extensions has asked Mozilla representatives to disclose the reason for the block, considering that the extension does not formally violate any AMO directory rules. Mozilla representatives have not specified the reasons for the block yet, but it is likely they acted following demands from Roskomnadzor.
Blocking extensions that violate the laws of specific countries is not new; for example, in 2022, Mozilla blocked access to uBlock Origin, AdGuard, AdNauseam, and AdBlock extensions from China, which was done after a threat to block the entire addons.mozilla.org catalog in China emerged.
Notably, such blocks clearly contradict the principles outlined in Mozilla's manifesto and also go against the company's overall policy, under which two years ago, services Yandex and Mail.ru were removed from the list of available search engines, citing the predominance of biased viewpoints reflected in search results.
The blocked extensions for Russia cannot be named in the news due to a ban on promoting bypass tools that has been in effect since March 1. The first extension targets general bypassing of restrictions in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and other countries. The second extension is specifically designed for bypassing censorship in the Russian internet. The third extension ensures operation VPN-of a service that does not block based on Roskomnadzor's lists for users from Russia. The fourth extension selectively includes the use of proxies for websites blocked by Roskomnadzor.
Source: opennet.ru
