Firefox blocks Yandex and other browsers
To give you an idea, what the Firefox browser has done is something like if in Spain they block access to Google, which is the main search engine. Many users would not be able to navigate normally and would have to look for an alternative. Even users who are not very knowledgeable might have a hard time finding an alternative.
Specifically, Mozilla Firefox has blocked access to search engines Yandex, Mail.ru and OK.ru, which is a subsidiary of the second. It considers them participants in disinformation and offers users results that have nothing to do with freedom and truth. And this is a real problem when it comes to accessing the Internet and performing searches.
Although in Spain we only know or know Yandex, the truth is that these three search engines are the most used in Russia. It has over 100 million users a month. In fact, Firefox made Yandex the default search engine in its browser in Russia a few years ago.
Now with the latest version of Firefox 98.0.1, these search engines have been removed from the list. It is no longer possible to find these options. Additionally, they have indicated that the default search providers and any associated customizations, plugins, and default bookmarks would be removed as part of this process.
But this is not something that affects only those who connect from Russia, but they have also removed it for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Turkey. The reason, according to Firefox, is that they have reports that there is content sponsored by the Russian state, something that goes against Mozilla’s principles.
Google, the default search engine
After remove Yandex as the default browser, Firefox has made Google the default option. Therefore, whoever tries to search from Russia through the popular Mozilla browser will have to use the Google search engine by default.
Although they have not specified exactly what type of sponsored content appears in these Russian search engines, they have indicated that it is search results favoring state media spreading wrong and manipulated information about the invasion of Ukraine.
It is unknown, at least for the time being, whether this may also have an impact on other Russian websites or services. However, what we can say is that it becomes more difficult for Russians to surf the Internet normally. And surely it is not the last similar case that we are going to see.
Keep in mind that there are many services on the Internet to perform searches. There are many alternatives to Google that can provide more privacy or different functions when searching for terms or making any query on the web.