Mozilla (Firefox) - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Mozilla (Firefox) is High Risk.

Mozilla, the company behind the web browser Firefox, is High Risk. The company yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. Mozilla embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	High Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	Medium Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	Lower Risk

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

In 2014, Mozilla co-founder and CEO Brendan Eich stepped down from his role following controversy over his stance on same-sex marriage (1)(2).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Mozilla does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs. The company’s charitable giving focuses on providing “funding, mentorship, and amplification to innovators of all types — from technologists and scientists to activists and artists” (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Mozilla does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (1)(2).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Mozilla signed multiple amicus briefs supporting the inclusion of gender identity and sexual orientation under federal civil rights law (1). The company has taken a strongly negative corporate stance against then-President Donald Trump and sought to take an active role against his candidacy (2). Mozilla encouraged companies to stop cooperating with law enforcement due to concerns over racial justice (3). The company’s General Counsel, Amy Keating, co-signed a letter to law firms demanding an improvement in diversity in order to retain business with the company (4).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Mozilla provides a benefits package for employees that covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion (1). The company has partnered with ideological groups hostile to freedom of expression, such as the Ford Foundation, Color of Change, and the American Civil Liberties Union (2). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Mozilla using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (3).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Mozilla does not operate a PAC at this time and has not lobbied for ideological purposes (1)(2)(3).