Mozilla Ends Partnership with Onerep Over CEO's Ties to Data Brokers
Mozilla has decided to terminate its collaboration with Onerep, a service aimed at aiding users in locating and removing personal information exposed on the internet. This decision follows revelations about Onerep's CEO having connections to a data broker, as initially disclosed by Krebs on Security.
Brandon Borrman, Mozilla's vice president of communications, stated that although customer data was never compromised, the external financial involvements and actions of Onerep's CEO contradict Mozilla's principles. This stance emphasizes Mozilla's commitment to upholding user privacy and ethical business practices.
Initially integrated into Mozilla's Monitor Plus subscription, priced at $8.99 monthly, Onerep's service facilitated the identification and removal of personal data across numerous websites. However, an investigative report by Krebs on Security revealed that Onerep's CEO, Dimitri Shelest, had launched multiple people-search platforms over several years. Shelest later acknowledged his continued ownership stake in Nuwber, a platform enabling individuals to search for others using various personal identifiers. Shelest says there is “zero cross-over or information-sharing” between Nuwber and Onerep.
“I get it. My affiliation with a people search business may look odd from the outside,” Shelest’s statement reads. “In truth, if I hadn’t taken that initial path with a deep dive into how people search sites work, Onerep wouldn’t have the best tech and team in the space. Still, I now appreciate that we did not make this more clear in the past and I’m aiming to do better in the future.”
Following Shelest’s statement, Mozilla decided to end its short-lived partnership with Onerep. “We’re working now to solidify a transition plan that will provide customers with a seamless experience and will continue to put their interests first,” Borrman told The Verge. Mozilla has not yet provided a comment regarding whether it intends to seek an alternative partner to replace Onerep or if it will cease the service entirely.