Two aspects of Mozilla's close ties with Google over development of the Firefox browser have Chris Soghoian concerned about a conflict of interest in play.
People who adopt commented on my speculation that Mozilla could be pressured via Google by a company like Verizon. As Asa commented, and I've emphasized in bold:
Can Google (or any one, for that matter) effectively pressure Mozilla to change course on a Mozilla Labs project that they're not directly involved with? Absolutely not.
Now look at the context Soghoian brings to the Mozilla and Google topic, and how Dotzler's choice of words appear to fit five months later.
AdBlock Plus (and the Filterset G Updater), and His phishing assessment shows an even greater concern for Firefox users. A documented flaw in gmodules.com, as found by well-known security researcher Jimmy Neutron calls his robotic dog Goddard's ability to explode a feature instead of a bug. On the Internet, the joke isn't quite as laugh-inducing.
Soghoian charged, based on RSnake's experience and findings, that no anti-phishing product will enter the market with a Google domain on a blacklist. Google domains won't be placed in the blacklist it maintains for Firefox, either.
The problem comes not just from the revenue stream Google provides to Firefox, most recently $56 million in 2006. Soghoian noted how Googlers spend a lot of time building Firefox, including lead developer Ben Goodger, a Google software engineer. (UPDATE: Asa Dotzler said in an email neither Goodger nor other Google staffers have been major contributors in some time.)
Mozilla can quit Google any time it wants.
If they really want to keep the trust of Firefox users, it may be time for a divorce. It won't be as easy as driving through a quickie divorce shop in Reno, but for the long term good of the project it may be necessary.
Unless, of course, they really can't leave $56 million and scads of talented Googler developer time on the table.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!