Security News > 2022 > March > Mozilla Firefox removes Russian search providers over misinformation concerns
Mozilla has removed the Yandex Search, Mail.ru, and OK.ru default search providers from the Firefox browser over reports of state-sponsored content favored in search results.
Since 2014, Mozilla has made Yandex the default search engine in Russia, and the following year made it the default search for users in Turkey.
With today's release of Firefox 98.0.1, Mozilla announced that they removed the Yandex and Mail.ru providers from the browser's drop-down search menu but did not provide any details as to why this was done.
"Yandex and Mail.ru have been removed as optional search providers in the drop-down search menu in Firefox," reads the release notes for Firefox 98.0.1.
"After careful consideration, we are suspending the use of Yandex Search in Firefox due to credible reports of search results displaying a prevalence of state sponsored content, which is contrary to the principles of Mozilla," a Mozilla spokesperson explained to BleepingComputer.
While Mozilla has not stated what state-sponsored content is being shown, BleepingComputer has been told that it is search results favoring Russian state media spreading misinformation regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine.