As a loyal user, I didn't quite see this coming.
Under `Browser Privacy`, I have `Enhanced Tracking Protection` set to `Strict`.
I had studies turned off, when I go to `about:studies` it explicitly says: "No new studies will run.".
I have `Tell web sites not to sell or share my data` checked.
I have `Send web sites a “Do Not Track” request` checked.
It seems like Mozilla still thought it was okay to automatically add a "Allow web sites to perform privacy-preserving ad measurement" checkbox.
Yet with that all set, they seem okay to let it be checked by default, so they can send off my data!
They say:
"A small number of sites are going to test this and provide feedback to inform our standardization plans, and help us understand if this is likely to gain traction." - that sounds a lot like a study, and I've opted out of studies!
I did not consent, and as best I can tell, Mozilla has breached GDPR.
As best I can tell, Mozilla disregarded my preferences.
It seems they have violated these GDPR principles:
a lack of consent,
purpose limitation (unintended data use),
`Data protection by design and default` AKA `privacy by design` (by ignoring settings),
and right to object (disregarding preferences).
It is absolutely unfair to argue that it is not personal information about me.
It seems to me that they are lying, or at the very least twisting words so thin. My trust in them is vanishing.
There is no way to reliably verify their differential privacy, and even if there was, they still had no informed consent to collect the data and send it off.
To give controls to a user, and then totally ignore them, is what got Facebook in big trouble.
It really looks like Mozilla is not only not listening to explicitly stated user preferences, preferences that have been set intentionally, but it's outright ignoring them and doing the very opposite of what the users intention is!
If they thought that they had a good reason to do so, and that the ends justifies the means, they are so very wrong.
I have used Firefox for as long as it's existed.
For Mozilla, this is an almost sadistic own goal.
How did they think that this was going to be okay?
Did they think people would not find out?
There will have to be changes after this at Mozilla if they were to regain trust and I'm really sceptical they can do it.
I really want / wanted them to succeed but I don't see how.