EFF Statement on Mozilla and the Importance of the Open Internet

We support the Mozilla community and the vital work they’ve done—and must keep doing—for the open Internet. EFF has been following the discussions around the choice of Brendan Eich as Mozilla’s CEO, including the announcement that he is stepping down.

As partners to Mozilla in campaigns that have included the fight against SOPA/PIPA, the StopWatching.US Coalition against mass surveillance, the effort to Encrypt the Web, the battle to prevent non-consensual online tracking, and ongoing work to make Firefox a more secure browser, we appreciate the frank and honest discussion that the community has undergone over this issue and respect the openness of the process. In that respect, as in many others, the difference between a closed and an open community is profound.

We believe that what Mozilla stands for—building and supporting an open Internet that gives users freedom to communicate, innovate, and stay safe and secure—is a job that few other institutions are in a place to pursue. So as this change occurs, and the discussion continues, we also want to keep our focus on the goal that everyone can agree on: preserving an open Internet.

As David Clark said long ago, the Internet runs best on “rough consensus and running code.” That, to us, is the essence of the Mozilla community. This is a team that built the free and open source Firefox browser, and got it into hundreds of millions of people’s hands. The open Web is one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments, and we look forward to continuing to work with Mozilla to ensure that this vision continues to thrive.