Mozilla opposes CISPA bill as violating privacy rights

Mozilla, located in Mountain View California, is the company that has produced the successful and popular browser Firefox. The company has issued a statement condemning the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). The company says the opposition is to protect the rights of its users.

The company statement said:“While we wholeheartedly support a more secure Internet, CISPA has a broad and alarming reach that goes far beyond Internet security,” “The bill infringes on our privacy, includes vague definitions of cybersecurity, and grants immunities to companies and government that are too broad around information misuse. We hope the Senate takes the time to fully and openly consider these issues with stakeholder input before moving forward with this legislation.” Others have joined in opposition to the bill including several Democratic representatives. The U.S House of Representatives has already passed the bill and it has gone to the U.S. Senate.

Advisers to Obama have issued a statement saying that the administration will advise Obama to veto the bill if it does pass Senate. However a similar statement was issued about the National Defense Authorization Act but Obama eventually signed it on New Year's Eve..

Mozilla's opposition is a big plus for opponents of the bill. Other Silicon Valley big corporations such as IBM, Facebook and Microsoft support the bill. Microsoft was rumored to have changed it position but recently denied this.

Among others opposing the bill are The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Ron Paul, and the American Civil Liberties Union and Reddit. For more see this article.