Subject: Bug#985564: pocket recommendations violate the social contract

From: Taowa <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2021 23:25:32 -0400

Package: firefox
Version: 86.0.1-1
Tags: patch
X-Debbugs-CC: [email-masked]
User: [email-masked]
Usertag: privacy

Dear Maintainer,

By default, a user who installs firefox or firefox-esr will see Pocket
Recommendations each time the package is launched and each time a new
tab is opened.

Showing Pocket Recommendations raises privacy and software freedom
concerns. Even when ignored by the user, Pocket necessarily phones home
to request stories. If engaged, Pocket contains telemetry to track user
activity.

Likewise, clicking a Pocket Recommendation invariably executes non-free
JavaScript. While this may not strictly violate current policy, we
believe that Pocket Recommendations are, well, recommendations. As such,
firefox recommends the execution of non-free software.

Finally, we believe that Pocket Recommendations are inherently contrary
to the user's priorities. Users open a browser to navigate to
destinations of their choosing. Pocket Recommendations intentionally
divert the user's attention, sometimes for financial gain via embedded
advertisement as "sponsored" stories. There is an additional layer of
user deception: some recommendations link to getpocket.com, despite
showing a different domain as the destination. Advertisements,
deception, and intentional distractions have no place in a free
operating system.

We believe that these practices violate article 4 of the Social Contract
("Our priorities are our users and free software"), rendering firefox
unsuitable for main should it not be patched out.

The attached patch disables Pocket Recommendations, aligning the default
behaviour with user expectations. Pocket functionality can be restored
via about:config, however we expect most Debian users do not want it
enabled.

Thank you.

Taowa <[email-masked]>
Alyssa Rosenzweig <[email-masked]>

--

Description: Disable Pocket Recommendations
Author: Taowa <[email-masked]>
Last-Update: 2021-03-20
---
This patch header follows DEP-3: http://dep.debian.net/deps/dep3/

--- a/browser/app/profile/firefox.js
+++ b/browser/app/profile/firefox.js
@@ -2528,3 +2528,6 @@
   pref("app.normandy.test-prefs.integer", 0);
   pref("app.normandy.test-prefs.string", "");
 #endif
+
+// Disable Pocket Recommendations
+pref("browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.feeds.system.topstories", false);