Hello,
can i use Censor Tracker to circumvent censorship in Germany?
The government banned RT from here two years ago and only allows us to consume Ukrainian propaganda like Ghost of Kyiv stories.
I also would like to know how the Great Counteroffensive last year ended, any talk about this is under heavy censorship.
Thank You.
I’ll ignore your ironic tone and answer you. Initially, it was developed for Russia (since we have a publicly available list of banned websites), but anyone can use it since we support custom proxying lists. So, the answer is yes, you can use it everywhere, including Germany.
So i have to create custom lists in order to be able to consume media that my regime here censors, because my regime here doesn’t publish the list of banned websites, while Russia does?
Sounds useless, i will just keep using ordinary proxies. Thanks, though.
Well, as I said Censor Tracker is initially developed by Russian developers for Russian users (although we also managed to add support for Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakshstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan). It is not surprising that censorhip in Germany is not our priority.
Cool.
Well, if you would have advertised it in a general way, instead of specifically targeting a single country (as you wrote in OP), then this one country might have not been justified to ban it.
i.e. if i would make an Extension with the specific purpose to bypass the media bans in Germany, they would shut me down in Germany.
Already happened to others that did that.
Maybe just be smarter next time.
Think about censorship as a tool.
This tool may be used for good or for bad.
E.g., it may be used to hinder piracy, provide privacy, protect citizens from being fooled by some fake propaganda. However this tool may also be abused by bad actors, e.g., power usurpators like the Russian government to present the Kremlin in a good view and gain more supporters.
Some people think that the tool of censorship brings more evil than good and so it shouldn’t be used by any actor at all. In your case, both Russian and German state censorships shouldn’t exist and consumers of propaganda should use critical thinking, doubt the information they receive and so protect themselves on their own.
Should Mozilla ban Russian state censorship but allow German? Should they give this tool to good actors/states and deprive of it bad actors/states? It depends on what role the company wants to take, its principles and values, the balance between users freedoms and compliance to the laws of acknowledged and democratically (kind of) elected governments. I hope Mozilla will clarify their stance shortly.
So you really think that closing off the ability to get information from alternative sources with an iron curtain is going to be the solution? Fascinating 
Two devs (@ilyaigpetrov and @zombbo) of major censorship bypass extensions are simply trying to get answers to their questions to understand the situation. None of them are blaming Mozilla for anything now.
Hello @zombbo,
As noted in the article someone linked to in this thread previously, we temporarily restricted access following a request from Roskomnadzor. Notification to the developers of the impacted extensions was not completed in a timely manner and we are reviewing our processes to ensure this does not occur in the future.
So Mozilla is now supporting censorship? That’s a shame. I’ve used Firefox from Netscape Navigator days and I always recommended FF to all people.
While Mozilla did many questionable things in the past years I stood for this browser, because well, no one is perfect and alternatives are much worse.
If they will not remove geoblocking quickly, then I’m leaving. Not because I personally need this addons, but because Mozilla doesn’t follow their own principles.
Time to delete Firefox, huh?
Do you seriously think that there are democratic elections in Russia and that Russian citizens can choose their own presidents? You are very naive if you think so. And you are very naive if you think that those who live in Russia support (for the most part) what is happening now. It is also very strange that you are trying to drag politics into this. There is a problem of censorship in the country (instead of Russia there could be any other authoritarian country, be it Belarus, Uzbekistan or Iran). If tomorrow they restrict access to these extensions in these countries, will you also ask citizens to sit on their side of the fence?
I am deeply sorry to hear that. I appreciate your response.
What a shame…
It seems I have to start searching for a new browser.
Why you don’t understand? This is a huge reputational blow, even if these extensions are unblocked after a while…
This is really troubling. Mozilla should stand up for its values. If it gives in now, many other countries will start pressuring Mozilla to censor as well.
The inability to sideload unsigned extensions makes Mozilla a gatekeeper, which inevitably makes Mozilla a censor. Apple put itself in this position and routinely censors apps in China. Mozilla should have expected to be in this position and never should have made itself a gatekeeper. It’s worth rethinking the signing requirement.
Hi Folks - I wanted to provide the latest update here as well as thank you for your patience while we worked through this issue.
Thank you.
Ed
In alignment with our commitment to an open and accessible internet, Mozilla will reinstate previously restricted listings in Russia. Our initial decision to temporarily restrict these listings was made while we considered the regulatory environment in Russia and the potential risk to our community and staff.
As outlined in our Manifesto, Mozilla’s core principles emphasize the importance of an internet that is a global public resource, open and accessible to all. Users should be free to customize and enhance their online experience through add-ons without undue restrictions.
By reinstating these add-ons, we reaffirm our dedication to:
Openness: Promoting a free and open internet where users can shape their online experience.
Accessibility: Ensuring that the internet remains a public resource accessible to everyone, regardless of geographical location.
We remain committed to supporting our users in Russia and worldwide and will continue to advocate for an open and accessible internet for all.
Thank you. We appriciate that!