Mozilla declines US government request to withdraw MafiaaFire

Mozilla has refused a request by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to withdraw the MafiaaFire add-on.

The DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations unit had told Mozilla that the software was being used to bypass controls placed on domains to restrict access to sites hosting illegal content.

Harvey Anderson, from Mozilla's legal team, explained in a blog post that Mozilla had declined the request since, to its knowledge, no court action had ruled the software illegal.

Mozilla also asked for clarification as to the grounds for the request, and the role the company might have to take in shutting down the software.

"One of the fundamental issues here is under what conditions do intermediaries accede to government requests that have a censorship effect and which may threaten the open internet?" said Anderson.

"In this case, the underlying justification arises from the content holder's legitimate desire to combat piracy. The problem stems from the use of these government powers in service of private content holders when it can have unintended and harmful consequences."

Anderson added that Mozilla has not received a response from the DHS and will continue to support the add-on.