Question About AccuWeather
Hi all,
I’m a longtime Mozilla supporter, and I really value the organization’s commitment to openness, transparency, and user-first principles. That’s why I was surprised to see that Mozilla continues to partner with AccuWeather, and I wanted to open a respectful conversation about it.
AccuWeather’s CEO, Barry Myers, has a long and well-documented history of lobbying for the privatization of weather data. Under his leadership, AccuWeather pushed for legislation like the National Weather Service Duties Act, which would have prevented the National Weather Service (NWS) from offering public forecasts if private companies like AccuWeather were already doing so. Critics including meteorologists and open-data advocates warned that this would effectively limit public access to life-saving weather information.
Myers was later nominated to head NOAA during the Trump administration, despite his deep ties to AccuWeather and multiple ethics concerns. To make matters worse, in the present day, we’re seeing reports that NOAA is being actively dismantled from within—through budget cuts, leadership changes, and political pressure that favor privatization. These efforts echo the same ideology AccuWeather has historically supported: turning essential, public-facing weather data into a for-profit model. This is especially alarming in a time of increasing climate instability, where equitable access to accurate forecasting should be a public right, not a premium service.
Given Mozilla’s dedication to transparency, public interest, and open access to information, I’m genuinely curious how this partnership with AccuWeather aligns with those values. Has this relationship been re-evaluated recently? Or are there specific factors that Mozilla considers when forming or continuing partnerships with companies whose practices may not reflect Mozilla’s core mission?
This isn’t meant to be combative—I really do want to understand the reasoning behind this decision, and whether the Mozilla community has discussed these concerns internally. I’d also welcome thoughts from other community members who may have more insight.
Thanks for reading.
All Replies (4)
This is a Help forum how is Firefox browser connected to Accuweather? Did you try to contact Accuwather support and ask them this?
markwarner22 said
This is a Help forum how is Firefox browser connected to Accuweather? Did you try to contact Accuwather support and ask them this?
Hi there, thanks for the reply!
This is relevant to Mozilla because the AccuWeather integration is bundled into Firefox as a default extension for the Weather by Firefox feature—without user consent or clear opt-in. That rollout received significant backlash from the community, with many users comparing it to spyware due to its stealthy install and data-sharing concerns. Just a quick search will pull up forum threads and Reddit discussions full of people uninstalling it and voicing distrust over how it was handled.
That means Mozilla, a company built on transparency and open-source values, is actively choosing to collaborate with a private entity whose leadership has a long history of working against public access to essential data like weather forecasts. This raises serious questions about alignment between Mozilla’s public mission and the business choices it’s making.
So while this might be a Help (and feedback) forum, this is absolutely a Mozilla decision and one worth questioning publicly. I’m not asking AccuWeather why Mozilla partnered with them—I’m asking Mozilla. Because Mozilla made the choice to collaborate, integrate, and distribute their product. That makes it their responsibility to explain how this aligns with the values they claim to uphold.
So no, this isn’t a support ticket for AccuWeather—I’m not asking them to fix a bug. I’m asking Mozilla to explain the rationale behind continuing a partnership that many users find ethically questionable, especially in light of recent news about NOAA being dismantled and AccuWeather’s involvement in similar past efforts.
I’m genuinely hoping to get a thoughtful discussion going, since a lot of us care deeply about Firefox and what it stands for, and I don't want to "think" I'm supporting a cause that aligns with my values if that's not the truth. As volunteers, donors, and users, I think we’re allowed to ask questions when it seems like Mozilla’s actions may contradict their mission. If we can’t ask questions about ethical concerns on Mozilla’s own platform, where exactly are we supposed to go?
Hope that clears things up!
markwarner22 said
how is Firefox browser connected to Accuweather?The weather conditions feature in Firefox is sourced from AccuWeather.
See these two Knowledge Base Articles https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-it-works-firefox-weather and https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/get-your-local-weather-forecast-firefox-address-bar
This is a community support forum for support on a number Mozilla products https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/new
Feedback and ideas can be mentioned at https://connect.mozilla.org/
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