Mozilla Removes Russia's Google, Claims To Continue Spreading Propaganda

Mozilla has removed the Russian search engine provider from its Firefox browser.. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - Several technology companies recently joined forces to ban and restrict Russian content on their platforms following its invasion of Ukraine. This includes Mozilla which has removed the Russian search engine provider from its Firefox browser.

"After careful consideration, we are suspending the use of Yandex Search in Firefox due to credible reports of search results displaying the prevalence of state-sponsored content, which goes against Mozilla's principles," said a Mozilla spokesperson.

The information was revealed in the release of Firefox 98.0.1. where the patch details state Yandex and Mail.ru have been removed as optional search providers in the drop-down search menu in Firefox.

Also, as an optional search provider, all related customizations, add-ons, bookmarks, and anything else related to the search engine have also been removed.

Affected users will have their settings reverted to default, meaning their current search engine will likely be Google.

"For now Yandex Search will not be the default search experience (or default search option) for users in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Turkey. In the meantime, we are directing people to google.com," explained Mozilla.

However, Mozilla's announcement said nothing about the invasion of Ukraine, but some media outlets were quick to speculate that the change was made because Russian state-sponsored media spread misinformation about the war.

Yandex, Mail.ru, and OK.ru are the three most popular websites in the country. Combined they have more than 100 million unique users every month. Back in 2014, Mozilla had made Yandex the default search engine for all Russian users, expanding to Turkey the following year.

Before Mozilla, several technology companies also took similar steps. Just as Microsoft has removed Russian state-sponsored content from its platform and stopped all new sales of its products in the region, Google has also restricted access to Russian content, and Mastercard, Visa, and PayPal have suspended services in Russia.