Ad Industry Threatens Firefox Users with More Ads if Mozilla Moves on Tracking Plans

The online ad industry has attacked Mozilla over its decision to block third-party cookies in a future release of Firefox, calling the move “dangerous and highly disturbing,” and claiming that it will result in more ads shown to users.

The fierce reaction came from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Association of National Advertisers (ANA), both of which laid out positions in blog posts on March 14.

Dan Jaffe, the ANA’s vice president of government relations, denied that it was a coordinated campaign, even though both the ANA and IAB blasted Mozilla on the same day and used many of the same arguments—notably the threat to small businesses and a resulting curtailment of user choice on the Internet.

“The short answer is ‘no’ [it was not coordinated]. But all in the online ad industry are concerned about this ill-considered decision,” said Jaffe in an interview. “This is damaging to consumer interest and will undermine the Internet.”