Dell is charging customers £16.25 for Mozilla Firefox Web Browser Installation Service, which is in clear violation Mozilla’s Firefox distribution policy.
The browser is available for free download to anyone who wishes to use it, but Dell wants to seemingly profit from the otherwise free browser.
The issue first came to light when The Register was tipped off by one of its readers and when we checked it at press time we are also served with the option to install the browser for a fee.
From the looks of it, Dell is charging for the browser installation service and not the browser itself. Any person with the most basic of computer knowledge will be able to download and install the Internet Explorer alternative in 15 minutes for which Dell is charging £16.25.
The Register, citing insiders in Mozilla, claimed that the non-profit organisation is looking into the issue. “Mozilla is looking into this as it does not comply with terms and conditions policy. I’m afraid we can’t really answer your questions until Mozilla hears from legal teams.”
We are not sure if Dell is violating any of Mozilla’s terms, but until we hear from Mozilla’s legal team we will just wait and watch how this one unfolds.
