Public bug reported: The Firefox package does not act like ordinary packages. When it is running, it forcibly downloads upgraded binary versions of itself and then forces the user to restart Firefox and run the new version. There used to be a Firefox setting by which the user could control this, but it has been deliberately removed.
This is problematic in many ways. The first way is that it undermines the user's control over their own environment. The essential element of free software is that users control it, it does not control them. If there is behavior that is undesirable, they can fix it, not just be subjected to the arbitrary decisions of a distant corporation. For example, some users require that they have a copy of the source code that matches each binary package they are running. Firefox's covert upgrades undermine this local user policy, installing binaries that have no local matching source code. Other users may be using plugins or other applications that do not work with later versions of Firefox. It is not Firefox's decision when to upgrade -- it is the user's or system operator's. The second problem is that restarting one's browser has many side effects. For example, if one window or tab is in a video conference, forcing a restart of Firefox ejects the user from their video conference. If a video or audio file is merely playing in another window or tab, it is interrupted and not necessarily resumed after restart in the right place. Cookies and permissions (e.g. for NoScript) are not carried forward after a restart, when they are set to persist only for one session. If the Mozilla Corporation has firmly and permanently decided that it doesn't believe in the freedom of the end-users of its software, then Ubuntu should ship a patched version that DOES give its end-users freedom, by restoring the setting to disable automated updates. Firefox would continue to be able to be updated by the usual update-manager GUI (which IS under the control of the user), apt-get, or by the user explicitly installing new versions via dpkg or by building from source code. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 20.04 Package: firefox 97.0+build2-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 5.13.0-28.31~20.04.1-generic 5.13.19 Uname: Linux 5.13.0-28-generic x86_64 AddonCompatCheckDisabled: False ApportVersion: 2.20.11-0ubuntu27.21 Architecture: amd64 AudioDevicesInUse: USER PID ACCESS COMMAND /dev/snd/controlC2: gnu 2520 F.... pulseaudio /dev/snd/controlC1: gnu 2520 F.... pulseaudio /dev/snd/controlC0: gnu 2520 F.... pulseaudio BuildID: 20220202182137 CasperMD5CheckResult: skip Channel: Unavailable CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME Date: Tue Feb 15 22:55:07 2022 ForcedLayersAccel: False IncompatibleExtensions: Global Menu Bar integration - [email protected] English (South Africa) Language Pack - [email protected] English (GB) Language Pack - [email protected] Default - {972ce4c6-7e08-4474-a285-3208198ce6fd} InstallationDate: Installed on 2020-05-04 (652 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS "Focal Fossa" - Release amd64 (20200423) IpRoute: default via 209.16.159.254 dev enp6s0 proto static metric 100 75.101.100.0/24 dev enp6s0 proto kernel scope link src 75.101.100.46 metric 100 169.254.0.0/16 dev enp6s0 scope link metric 1000 172.17.0.0/16 dev docker0 proto kernel scope link src 172.17.0.1 linkdown 209.16.159.0/24 dev enp6s0 proto kernel scope link src 209.16.159.252 metric 100 MostRecentCrashID: bp-f3d4806a-b277-49a1-b452-902072161127 PrefErrors: Unexpected character ',' before close parenthesis @ /usr/lib/firefox/omni.ja:greprefs.js:365 PrefSources: prefs.js ProcEnviron: TERM=xterm-256color PATH=(custom, no user) XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set> LANG=en_US.UTF-8 SHELL=/bin/bash Profiles: Profile0 (Default) - LastVersion=97.0/20220202182137 (In use) RunningIncompatibleAddons: True SourcePackage: firefox SubmittedCrashIDs: bp-f3d4806a-b277-49a1-b452-902072161127 bp-4da20c64-dde1-4304-9118-238562160914 bp-16b8bc44-ebd0-46e0-a272-95feb2160908 UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) dmi.bios.date: 01/16/2019 dmi.bios.release: 5.13 dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc. dmi.bios.version: F25 dmi.board.asset.tag: Default string dmi.board.name: AX370-Gaming 5 dmi.board.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. dmi.board.version: Default string dmi.chassis.asset.tag: Default string dmi.chassis.type: 3 dmi.chassis.vendor: Default string dmi.chassis.version: Default string dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvrF25:bd01/16/2019:br5.13:svnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:pnAX370-Gaming5:pvrDefaultstring:rvnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:rnAX370-Gaming5:rvrDefaultstring:cvnDefaultstring:ct3:cvrDefaultstring:skuDefaultstring: dmi.product.family: Default string dmi.product.name: AX370-Gaming 5 dmi.product.sku: Default string dmi.product.version: Default string dmi.sys.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. ** Affects: firefox (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided Status: New ** Tags: amd64 apport-bug focal -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to firefox in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1961010 Title: firefox doesn't let its user control how or when it upgrades Status in firefox package in Ubuntu: New Bug description: The Firefox package does not act like ordinary packages. When it is running, it forcibly downloads upgraded binary versions of itself and then forces the user to restart Firefox and run the new version. There used to be a Firefox setting by which the user could control this, but it has been deliberately removed. This is problematic in many ways. The first way is that it undermines the user's control over their own environment. The essential element of free software is that users control it, it does not control them. If there is behavior that is undesirable, they can fix it, not just be subjected to the arbitrary decisions of a distant corporation. For example, some users require that they have a copy of the source code that matches each binary package they are running. Firefox's covert upgrades undermine this local user policy, installing binaries that have no local matching source code. Other users may be using plugins or other applications that do not work with later versions of Firefox. It is not Firefox's decision when to upgrade -- it is the user's or system operator's. The second problem is that restarting one's browser has many side effects. For example, if one window or tab is in a video conference, forcing a restart of Firefox ejects the user from their video conference. If a video or audio file is merely playing in another window or tab, it is interrupted and not necessarily resumed after restart in the right place. Cookies and permissions (e.g. for NoScript) are not carried forward after a restart, when they are set to persist only for one session. If the Mozilla Corporation has firmly and permanently decided that it doesn't believe in the freedom of the end-users of its software, then Ubuntu should ship a patched version that DOES give its end-users freedom, by restoring the setting to disable automated updates. Firefox would continue to be able to be updated by the usual update- manager GUI (which IS under the control of the user), apt-get, or by the user explicitly installing new versions via dpkg or by building from source code. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 20.04 Package: firefox 97.0+build2-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 5.13.0-28.31~20.04.1-generic 5.13.19 Uname: Linux 5.13.0-28-generic x86_64 AddonCompatCheckDisabled: False ApportVersion: 2.20.11-0ubuntu27.21 Architecture: amd64 AudioDevicesInUse: USER PID ACCESS COMMAND /dev/snd/controlC2: gnu 2520 F.... pulseaudio /dev/snd/controlC1: gnu 2520 F.... pulseaudio /dev/snd/controlC0: gnu 2520 F.... pulseaudio BuildID: 20220202182137 CasperMD5CheckResult: skip Channel: Unavailable CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME Date: Tue Feb 15 22:55:07 2022 ForcedLayersAccel: False IncompatibleExtensions: Global Menu Bar integration - [email protected] English (South Africa) Language Pack - [email protected] English (GB) Language Pack - [email protected] Default - {972ce4c6-7e08-4474-a285-3208198ce6fd} InstallationDate: Installed on 2020-05-04 (652 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS "Focal Fossa" - Release amd64 (20200423) IpRoute: default via 209.16.159.254 dev enp6s0 proto static metric 100 75.101.100.0/24 dev enp6s0 proto kernel scope link src 75.101.100.46 metric 100 169.254.0.0/16 dev enp6s0 scope link metric 1000 172.17.0.0/16 dev docker0 proto kernel scope link src 172.17.0.1 linkdown 209.16.159.0/24 dev enp6s0 proto kernel scope link src 209.16.159.252 metric 100 MostRecentCrashID: bp-f3d4806a-b277-49a1-b452-902072161127 PrefErrors: Unexpected character ',' before close parenthesis @ /usr/lib/firefox/omni.ja:greprefs.js:365 PrefSources: prefs.js ProcEnviron: TERM=xterm-256color PATH=(custom, no user) XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set> LANG=en_US.UTF-8 SHELL=/bin/bash Profiles: Profile0 (Default) - LastVersion=97.0/20220202182137 (In use) RunningIncompatibleAddons: True SourcePackage: firefox SubmittedCrashIDs: bp-f3d4806a-b277-49a1-b452-902072161127 bp-4da20c64-dde1-4304-9118-238562160914 bp-16b8bc44-ebd0-46e0-a272-95feb2160908 UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) dmi.bios.date: 01/16/2019 dmi.bios.release: 5.13 dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc. dmi.bios.version: F25 dmi.board.asset.tag: Default string dmi.board.name: AX370-Gaming 5 dmi.board.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. dmi.board.version: Default string dmi.chassis.asset.tag: Default string dmi.chassis.type: 3 dmi.chassis.vendor: Default string dmi.chassis.version: Default string dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvrF25:bd01/16/2019:br5.13:svnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:pnAX370-Gaming5:pvrDefaultstring:rvnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:rnAX370-Gaming5:rvrDefaultstring:cvnDefaultstring:ct3:cvrDefaultstring:skuDefaultstring: dmi.product.family: Default string dmi.product.name: AX370-Gaming 5 dmi.product.sku: Default string dmi.product.version: Default string dmi.sys.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. 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