The Mozilla Foundation, the entity behind the web browser Firefox, has recently made a decision to block various censorship circumvention add-ons for its browser, including those aimed at helping individuals in Russia bypass state censorship. This action came in response to demands from Russia’s federal censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media.

According to a statement by Mozilla to The Intercept, the organization received persistent requests from Roskomnadzor to remove five add-ons from the Mozilla add-on store following regulatory changes in Russia. As a result, the availability of these add-ons has been temporarily restricted within Russia while Mozilla evaluates its next steps.

Stanislav Shakirov, the chief technical officer of Roskomsvoboda, a Russian open internet group, expressed disappointment in Mozilla’s decision, stating that it was unexpected given the corporation’s supposed commitment to information access. Shakirov hoped that this move by Mozilla would be further examined to align with the values of promoting free access to information.

Developers of digital tools designed to circumvent censorship, such as the developer of Censor Tracker, an add-on for bypassing internet censorship in Russia and former Soviet countries, have reported the unavailability of their Firefox add-ons in Russia. This development has raised concerns among users and advocates of internet freedom.