Mozilla will only advertise on Facebook again if it protects user data better

Mozilla has announced that it will temporarily stop placing ads on Facebook. The organization behind software such as the Firefox browser says it only wants to advertise again if Facebook protects users’ data better.

In its announcement, Mozilla does not say how many ads it places on Facebook or what the amount involved. The organization writes: “Facebook knows a lot about its two billion users, perhaps it knows more intimate information than any other company.” News of Cambridge Analytica’s data collection of an estimated 50 million users would have prompted Mozilla to reconsider Facebook’s default privacy settings. These settings would currently still provide a lot of access to user data, for example via third-party apps.

That’s why the organization started a petition this week to get Facebook to change its app permissions so that users’ privacy is protected through default settings. On Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that apps and games will have access to less data. They only get access to names, profile pictures and e-mail addresses.

Mozilla believes these measures are a step in the right direction, but says it won’t start advertising again until Facebook takes more action, especially in the area of ​​blocking data from third-party apps. The organization says it is “looking forward to Facebook implementing some of the things it has announced.”