Mozilla is launching a new privacy-focused data sharing platform called Rally, which gives users control over their data online rather than companies. At the same time, the new platform also allows users of the company's browser to contribute their browsing data to crowdsourcing projects with the aim of building a better Internet and a better society. For too long, companies have been taking user data without their consent, but what if users themselves could choose who has access to their data and use it for the public good? While Mozilla has continued to add privacy features to its browser that give users more control over their data by blocking trackers, having "data power" also requires users to be able to choose who has access to their data. Rebecca Weiss, project manager at Mozilla Rally, explained why the company decided to launch its new data-sharing platform in a press release: “Excluding people from decisions about their data is an injustice that hurts people, society and the Internet. We believe that you need to determine who benefits from your data. We are data optimists and we want to change the way the data economy works for people and businesses on a daily basis. We're excited to see how Rally can help understand and improve some of the biggest problems on the Internet. "
Mozilla Rally
As a first step, Mozilla is launching the new Rally research initiative, and this participatory science effort was developed in collaboration with the research group of Princeton University professor Jonathan Mayer. Thus, computer scientists, sociologists and other researchers will be able to launch new studies on the web and invite users to participate. A core tenet of the initiative is to enable unprecedented research that powers mainstream online services, according to Mozilla. Mozilla launches its Mozilla Rally research initiative with two studies from research collaborators. The first study, titled "Political News and COVID-19," comes from the Princeton team and will examine how people interact with news and misinformation about politics and Covid-19 through online services. The second study, which is called "Beyond the paywall" and will be released soon, aims to better understand information consumption. Finally, Mozilla is releasing a new toolset called WebScience that allows researchers to create standardized, browser-based studies on Rally. The toolkit also encourages data minimization, as this is critical for Rally to respect those who choose to participate in its studies. Mozilla Rally is currently available to Firefox desktop users ages 19 and older in the United States, though the company plans to release its data-sharing platform for other browsers and countries at a later date.