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The Mozilla Manifesto lays out the guiding principles of the
Mozilla Foundation
The Mozilla Foundation (stylized as moz://a) is an American non-profit organization that exists to support and collectively lead the open source Mozilla project. Founded in July 2003, the organization sets the policies that govern development, ...
, the non-profit that leads the
open-source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
Mozilla
Mozilla (stylized as moz://a) is a free software community founded in 1998 by members of Netscape. The Mozilla community uses, develops, spreads and supports Mozilla products, thereby promoting exclusively free software and open standards, wi ...
project best-known for its
Firefox
Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements current and ...
web browser
A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on ...
.
Penned in 2007 by
Mitchell Baker
Winifred Mitchell Baker (born 1957) is the Executive Chairwoman and CEO of the Mozilla Foundation and of Mozilla Corporation, a subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation that coordinates development of the open source Mozilla Internet applications, in ...
, with adjustments in 2018, it promotes
free software
Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, no ...
, universal access to the
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
, and interoperable technologies, and emphasizes values of
privacy
Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively.
The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...
, openness, and a belief in the ability of the internet to enrich the lives of people.
History
The manifesto, adapted from principles
Mozilla
Mozilla (stylized as moz://a) is a free software community founded in 1998 by members of Netscape. The Mozilla community uses, develops, spreads and supports Mozilla products, thereby promoting exclusively free software and open standards, wi ...
had held since it was founded in 1998, was written by
Mitchell Baker
Winifred Mitchell Baker (born 1957) is the Executive Chairwoman and CEO of the Mozilla Foundation and of Mozilla Corporation, a subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation that coordinates development of the open source Mozilla Internet applications, in ...
and originally published in 2007.
As a result of the subsequent evolution of the internet, which led Baker to believe that "the power of the internet
as been
As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer
* "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder
* , a Spanish sports newspaper
* , an academic male voic ...
used to magnify divisiveness, incite violence, promote hatred, and intentionally manipulate fact and reality",
the manifesto was updated on the 20th anniversary of the founding of Mozilla in 2018 to add values of human dignity, tolerance, and civil discourse.
Content
The manifesto outlines the guiding principles of the
Mozilla Foundation
The Mozilla Foundation (stylized as moz://a) is an American non-profit organization that exists to support and collectively lead the open source Mozilla project. Founded in July 2003, the organization sets the policies that govern development, ...
and includes a pledge for how it will further those principles.
It also asserts Mozilla's commitment to the
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
, saying: "The open, global internet is the most powerful communication and collaboration resource we have ever seen. It embodies some of our deepest hopes for human progress."
Principles
The manifesto lays out 10 key principles:
# The internet is an integral part of modern life—a key component in education, communication, collaboration, business, entertainment and society as a whole.
# The internet is a global public resource that must remain open and accessible.
# The internet must enrich the lives of individual human beings.
# Individuals’ security and privacy on the internet are fundamental and must not be treated as optional.
# Individuals must have the ability to shape the internet and their own experiences on it.
# The effectiveness of the internet as a public resource depends upon interoperability (protocols, data formats, content), innovation and decentralized participation worldwide.
# Free and open source software promotes the development of the internet as a public resource.
# Transparent community-based processes promote participation, accountability and trust.
# Commercial involvement in the development of the internet brings many benefits; a balance between commercial profit and public benefit is critical.
# Magnifying the public benefit aspects of the internet is an important goal, worthy of time, attention and commitment.
Pledge
The manifesto also includes a pledge outlining Mozilla's commitments.
These are to:
*Build and enable open-source technologies and communities that support the Manifesto’s principles;
*Build and deliver great consumer products that support the Manifesto’s principles;
*Use the Mozilla assets (intellectual property such as copyrights and trademarks, infrastructure, funds, and reputation) to keep the Internet an open platform;
*Promote models for creating economic value for the public benefit; and
*Promote the Mozilla Manifesto principles in public discourse and within the Internet industry.
See also
*
Don't be evil
"Don't be evil" is a phrase that was used in Google's corporate code of conduct, which it also formerly preceded as a motto.
Following Google's corporate restructuring under the conglomerate Alphabet Inc. in October 2015, Alphabet took "Do the r ...
*
Right to Internet access
*
Digital rights
Digital rights are those human rights and legal rights that allow individuals to access, use, create, and publish digital media or to access and use computers, other electronic devices, and telecommunications networks. The concept is particular ...
*
Internet activism
Internet activism is the use of electronic communication technologies such as social media, e-mail, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster and more effective communication by citizen movements, the delivery of particular infor ...
References
External links
Official Manifesto
{{Mozilla projects
Firefox
History of the Internet