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As frustration with corporate power grows under the oligarch-friendly Trump administration, Mozilla Firefox stands out more than ever for at least one defining trait: It isnt owned by a giant tech company. We’re independent and nonprofit, Mozilla CEO Laura Chambers told Fast Company in an interview at Web Summit Qatar. We’re the only browser not backed by billionaires. But the nonprofit organization that broke Internet Explorers monopoly in Windows browsers 20 years ago isnt counting only on storytelling that we can do, she added. We’re also doing a lot of work on the product. Features getting filled out The first of a set of new features that Chambers describes as intended to help people navigate the Web more easily should ship in March. One cribs from a clever feature that Microsofts Edge added almost four years ago: an option to display open browser tabs in a column running down the left side of the browser window instead of in a row spanning the top. Neither Apples Safari nor Googles Chrome have seen fit to copy that since. A second sounds like the helpful quick-change tool Firefox offers to route a web search to the search engine of your choice: a sidebar tool that will let you switch between AI chatbots for quick queries that they can answer, hopefully without hallucination. Later in spring or summer, Mozilla plans to address a longstanding user request by shipping support for tab groups (for example, recipes or shopping) that you can create and then open or close as you need them. Safari in particular does this well, while Firefox users have had to install an extension to get a version of it. Another tab-management feature aimed at tab-overload victims like me (I had 76 open tabs open in this laptops copy of Firefox as I was writing this) will employ what sounds like on-device AI to organize tabs. Maybe more so than competitors like Google and Microsoft, Mozilla has been enlisting offline AI to avoid having to send any user data to the cloud. But its not always obvious when its new features work in that privacy-preserving way: I didnt know that Firefoxs page-translation feature worked on-device until I saw Chambers bring that up in a panel at Web Summits Doha conference. We should probably market that more, Chambers admits. A role for regulation But Mozilla says its already seeing increased adoption of its browserin Europe, where the EUs Digital Markets Act requires designated gatekeeper platforms to open mobile-device app stores and system defaults to potential competitors. In Europe, we grew Firefox share last year, which is the first time we’ve done it in a long time, Chambers said. Mozilla credits the DMAs choice screen, in which users pick a browser instead of having a system default waiting on their home screens, with goosing Firefox adoption in Android and iOSby 29% in Germany and France since the DMA went into effect last March. The underlying numbers remain low in third-party estimates, however. Cloudflares automated tracking puts Firefoxs mobile share at 1.3% in France and 2.7% in Germany, although Mozilla argues that Firefoxs tracking-prevention measures suppress those user counts. In the U.S., Cloudflare has Firefox at just .8%. Firefox has historically had higher share on Windows and Mac computers, where Cloudflare credits that browser with a 7.6% share worldwide, 21.5% in Germany, 14.6% in France, and 7.1% in the U.S. But its in the U.S. where government antitrust action may threaten Mozilla directly. The antitrust case that the federal government and almost every state attorney general successfully bought against Google over its search business practices could lead to a ban on Google paying other browsers to keep its search engine the default. Chambers would rather not see things come to that. The part that’s at risk is the U.S. revenue, she said. If our revenues were to be hurt through that, it would be much harder to sustain Gecko as an independent browser engine. A little engine that could Gecko, the open-source software framework inside Firefox that displays and animates pages, is the only major rendering engine that both runs on Windows and macOS and is not a Google project like the Blink open-source engine inside Chrome (employed by such indie, non-billionaire browser developers as Brave and the Browser Co). But Geckos third-place standing after Blink and Apples WebKit can lead to sites blocking the browserfor example, Formula 1s F1 TV brushes Firefox-using racing fans aside, telling them please switch to an alternative browser. Asked if life wouldnt be easier for Mozilla if it adopted WebKit, also open-source, Chambers said Mozilla has considered it but passed. It’s a lot of money and a lot of work to sustain an independent browser engine, she said. It also means we have a seat at the table with regulators, allowing Mozilla to advocate for causes like privacy. In iOS and iPadOS, Apple requires all U.S. third-party browsers to use the WebKit framework included in those mobile operating systems, which limits how third-party developers can differentiate their browsers from Apples Safari. Where Chambers points to Firefoxs speed relative to Chrome and Edge on Windows and to Safari on Macs (she did not mention how Apples browser also regularly lets individual pages devour system memory), her sales pitch for Firefox on an iPhone or iMac gets more evanescent: You’re supporting independent technology. New ventures In the past, Mozilla has tried to diversify its revenue by selling such add-on subscription products as a VPN service and Relay, a tool to create relay phone numbers and email addresses that mask your real ones. Its now reconsidering parts of that strategy, having already dumped some free-to-use services as Mozilla Social, its attempt to host a Mastodon instance. We’re not dialing it back, we’re working on different ways, said Chambers, adding that the company pulled back spend a little bit on promoting VPN, Relay and the Monitor data-breach-warning service. But last June, Mozilla also spent an unannounced sum to buy Anonym, an ad-tech firm founded to develop privacy-preserving online advertising systems that still let advertisers gauge what sales or other results came from their marketing efforts without snooping on individual shoppers. Chambers defends what might seem an unlikely alignment of a privacy-first browser with an adtech firm founded by former Meta executives as a way to keep online advertising alive in a way that web readers wont resent. The big technology that they use is differential privacy, which creates enough noise into the system so that it’s anonymous, she said, mentioning both some of the really big ad platforms and companies in health and financial services (both sectors already subject to privacy regulation) are expressing interest. (Another Google antitrust case, the lawsuit brought the U.S. and most states against Google over its display-ads business, may help crack open that market for Mozilla.) This openness to new business models led Mozilla to write the terms-of-service document that Firefox had never had. The company posted those terms on Wednesday and then faced enough blowback that it posted a follow-up addressing user anxiety in a few areas, such as the removal of a pledge never to sell data that Mozilla apparently felt could not be made without risking conflict with some of the vaguer privacy statutes around the world. Getting people to accept online advertising systems that make enough money to allow subscription-free reading across the web remains complicated, even for a company with a solid track record on privacy. But for Mozilla to keep working on that, Chambers has a simpler request of regulators. All that we ask for is that people are given a choice, she said. We don’t need it to be a preferential choice, they just need a choice.
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E-Commerce
What a difference two days makes. On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced his plans for the U.S. government to create a new Crypto Strategic Reserve. The news immediately sent crypt prices soaringsomething the industry needed after weeks of declines. However, less than 48 hours after Trump announced the Crypto Strategic Reserve, cryptocurrency prices are plunging. And this price change is also due to Trumpor rather, the tariffs hes now enacted. Heres what you need to know about the latest crypto crash. Why are cryptocurrency prices plummeting? As of the time of this writing, many major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana, are down at or near double-digit percentages. Meme coin heavyweights like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are also plummeting. As a matter of fact, this most recent crypto crash has wiped $300 billion off the value of cryptocurrencies as a whole, notes CNBC TV18. But why? It all comes down to tariffs. In the past 24 hours, President Trump has confirmed that he will move ahead with his longstanding threat to implement tariffs on products from America’s neighbors and two of its largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico. Both countries will see the United States levy 25% tariffs on some of their goods. However, Trump didnt stop by raising tariffs only against its neighbors. The president also levied 20% tariffs on select goods imported from China, Reuters notes. Yet, China, Mexico, and Canada havent taken Trumps actions sitting down. All three countries will enact tariffs on U.S. goods coming into their countries. This means that it will be more expensive for Chinese, Mexican, and Canadian businesses to buy U.S. goods, which will likely reduce the demand for those goods, hurting the U.S. companies and individuals who supply them. It also means that a large part of the world likely just entered a trade warincluding the countries behind its two largest economies. From an economic perspective, there is little benefit to trade wars. Prices of goods increase, demand drops, wages and jobs can be lost, and the resulting negative impact on economic activity can cause markets to drop. This is where todays crypto crash comes in. Cryptocurrencies are already highly volatile assets. Their values can swing 10% or more on any given trading day. That volatility makes them one of the first assets that investors usually sell when there are signs that the economy at large may be entering into a potentially volatile phase. Investors hate volatility because it increases risk. And one way to protect yourself against both is to dump assets more susceptible to those kinds of scenarios. Bitcoin, ETH, XRP, DOGE all drop This morning, many of the worlds most popular cryptocurrencies are down significantly due to concerns over Trumps trade wars. As of the time of this writing: Bitcoin is down over 9.3% Ethereum is down over 10.4% XRP is down over 9.4% Solana is down over 14% DOGE is down over 11% Shiba Inu is down over 8.8% The most notable of these is Bitcoin, the worlds most well-known and popular cryptocurrency. Bitcoin surged to all-time highs after Trump won the election, topping out at nearly $110,000 per coin. But in the last month, the price of Bitcoin has sunk, losing over 14% of its value. Year to date, the coin is down over 10%. Despite Trump being largely seen as a positive force for the industry, his geopolitical maneuvers and his readiness to start trade wars have made many cryptocurrency investors nervous, and the crypto markets have reacted in kind. As of the time of this writing, Bitcoin currently sits below $84,000 per coin, wiping out all the gains it had seen on Sunday with Trump’s announcement. Where the price of cryptocurrencies goes from here is anyone’s guess. But one thing seems certain: Yesterday’s “Crypto Strategic Reserve” bump didn’t last long.
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E-Commerce
Gen Z came of age in an environment that previous generations couldnt have imagined when we entered the workforce. Theyve never known the world without the internet or cellphones. Their education and early career paths were disrupted by a global pandemic that kept them at home, learning and working over a screen. Theyve been learning digital skills their entire lives. Its no wonder that their perspective on work is different than oursand its time for us to pay attention. With the aging U.S. workforce, we need to attract and retain Gen Z talent for our companies to thriveand this means a focus on skills-first hiring. Gen Z wants employers to value the skills they bring, not whether they have a college degree. This makes sense, given the impacts of the pandemic on many college careers and the rising costs of higher education. They also want employers to invest in their growth through mentorship, training, and upskilling programs to keep pace in a rapidly changing world. Whether through hands-on projects, portfolio work, or certifications, Gen Z wants clear pathways to prove themselves. And it is on us to find a new way of hiring that benefits us all. Change the way you think about qualifications Moving to a skills-first hiring model requires a major cultural shift, but one that unlocks productivity, creativity, and innovation. Indeeds research shows hiring managers who embrace this approach find it twice as easy to find qualified candidates. With 52% of U.S. job postings now dropping formal education requirements, the shift is already underway. By removing these barriers that screen out over 70 million skilled workers, companies can tap into a vastly larger talent pool. And I can tell you firsthand, it works. Young workers today are unapologetically rejecting the system that once held people like me back. I started my career during the 1990s dot-com boom and landed a well-paying job in operations without a college degree. When the bubble burst, I found myself shut out of the job marketnot because I lacked skills or experience, but because my résumé did not check the “college graduate” box. I went from making $90,000 a year to $11.75 an hour, forcing me to rebuild my career. That experience shaped my belief in hiring for skills and potential, not academic credentials. Degree requirements continue to serve as a gatekeeper, even though more than 62% of U.S. adults dont have one, excluding highly qualified candidates from even being considered. Remember: For a multitude of reasons, not everyone has the ability to go to college. Talent is universal, but opportunity is not. Strict education requirements for new hires created a workforce that is less innovative, inclusive, and responsive to change. This slows down a companys ability to adapt to an evolving economy. If you want to keep Gen Z, you have to invest in their skills. They expect opportunities to learn, evolve, and move upand if they dont see a clear path forward, they wont stick around. Redesign job descriptions to focus on skills, not degreesRemove degree requirements where possible and instead list essential skills and competencies. For example, if youre hiring a social media manager, why require a marketing degree when there are Gen Z creators who have built viral brands from scratch? Evaluate candidates based on real-world expertise. Build career progression paths that value ability over tenureCareer progression should depend on ability, not tenure. Gen Z employees are motivated by growth opportunities and expect clear, merit-based career paths. Too often, companies prioritize years of experience over proven contributions, which can stall promising talent and push Gen Z workers to seek opportunities elsewhere. Instead, organizations should create structured yet flexible advancement paths that recognize impact and leadership potential early. Create assessment methods that effectively evaluate soft & hard skillsRésumés often fail to capture a candidates true capabilities, which is particularly relevant for Gen Z. This generation has developed many skills through nontraditional pathways like self-directed learning, online certifications, and gig work. Consider implementing practical skills assessments, portfolio reviews, and behavioral interviews to evaluate problem-solving, creativity, and adaptability. Real-world skills assessments ensure hiring decisions are based on actual competencies, making it easier to identify high-potential Gen Z candidates who may not fit traditional hiring molds. Hire for the future, not the past Gen Z expects a smarter, fairer approach to hiringone that values what they bring to the table. Companies that get this will thrive. Those that dont? Theyll watch top talent walk away. Focusing on skills over degrees and clear career progression paths creates more engaged employees, better cultures, and stronger business outcomes. When I first lost my job, I had the skills to help any company grow and thrivebut I wasnt given the chance. Now, I am in a place where I can give that chance to others, and I do not take it lightly. We can build a future where talent speaks louder than degrees. My final thoughts? Embrace a skills-first, inclusive approach or risk losing the next generation of top talent. Its not a trend. Its the future.
Category:
E-Commerce
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