Mozilla has launched Rally, a privacy-first data sharing platform, to tackle the growing challenges related to privacy and user data.
Mozilla has a long history of championing privacy. It’s web browser, Firefox, is one of the most privacy-focused, secure browsers available. The company also offers a VPN service that has garnered positive reviews for its approach to privacy and security.
The company is adding Rally to its portfolio of software and services in an effort to help people take back control over their own data.
Your data is valuable. But for too long, online services have pilfered, swapped, and exploited your data without your awareness. Privacy violations and filter bubbles are all consequences of a surveillance data economy. But what if, instead of companies taking your data without giving you a say, you could select who gets access to your data and put it to work for public good?
Rather than advertisers benefiting from user data, Rally will give users the option to donate their data to help crowdfund research projects.
Computer scientists, social scientists and other researchers will be able to launch groundbreaking studies about the web and invite you to participate. A core focus of the initiative is enabling unprecedented studies that hold major online services accountable.
Mozilla is working with Professor Jonathan Mayer’s research group at Princeton University to help launch the Rally research initiative.
“Online services constantly experiment on users, to maximize engagement and profit,” says Mayer. “But for too long, academic researchers have been stymied when trying to experiment on online services. Rally flips the script and enables a new ecosystem of technology policy research.”
Rally sounds like an interesting concept and will hopefully help more users take control over their data.