Mozilla introduced the Rally project, which provides a platform for conducting research on user behavior and preferences, allowing users to control the data transmitted. Unlike the uncontrolled collection of user data, Rally implies the need to obtain explicit consent to participate in the experiment (opt-in) and the ability to monitor in detail what data is transmitted for analysis, who will have access to it and how long the information will be stored.
Each study is in the form of a browser add-on for Firefox (later they promise to add support for other browsers), which is proposed to be installed by users who have connected to Rally. Participation is voluntary and the user is free to choose which studies to participate in and which not. When agreeing to participate in the study, the user is shown the details of the experiment and what information about his actions will be transmitted. The user can stop participating in the study at any time and, if data collection has not yet been completed, the already accumulated information will be deleted and the browser add-on disabled.
Research can cover many areas, including the study of behavior on the Web and the collection of information to improve technologies for processing large amounts of data and artificial intelligence systems. For example, the first study is devoted to determining how much time people spend online, what sites they mostly use and how much time they spend on these sites. In most cases, data will be collected in the background, but some studies may display notifications periodically. Access to Rally is currently only open to US users who are 19 years of age or older. It is expected that the platform will help research teams obtain data about users without violating ethical standards, ensuring process transparency and maintaining confidentiality.
When collecting data, the concept of careful attitude to data (Lean Data) is applied, the essence of which is that only the minimum data that is really necessary is collected, no more, and everything possible is done to protect the collected data. Before sending, the data is encrypted, and the servers are stored in secure systems, access to which is limited. Platform-related source code is distributed under the Apache 2.0 license and is available for auditing.
Researchers will only have access to information relevant to their research and will be bound by procedures for secure data handling. Only well-established teams of researchers who are trustworthy, qualified, and who have signed a special agreement with Mozilla governing the requirement to work with the received data are eligible to participate. Public information is published only in an aggregated and depersonalized form that does not allow comparison of information with specific users.
Source: opennet.ru