Way back in February, Mozilla announced an upcoming collaboration with Scroll aimed finding a way to help fund news outlets. The organization appears ready to finally launch to the service, sending users a survey, along with invites to an upcoming beta launch of what it calls “Firefox Ad-free Internet.”
The service is one of countless third-party platforms aimed at helping ailing publications find a way to better monetize in an an era of defunding, when journalistic voices are more important than ever. Apple News offering is probably the most notable in the category, but Mozilla’s offering provides an interesting alternative to a standalone app.
The Firefox version essentially provides a way to bring users ad-free access to their favorite publications by paying an upfront fee of $5 a month. Per Mozilla,
The service enables web users to pay for an ad-free experience on their favorite sites, across their devices. By enabling more direct funding of publishers, Scroll’s model may offer a compelling alternative in the ecosystem. We will be collaborating with Scroll to better understand consumer attitudes and interest towards an ad-free experience on the web as part of an alternative funding model.
Buzzfeed, Gizmodo Media, Slate, The Atlantic, USA Today all seem to be onboard with the offering, ahead of launch.
