Why is there an OpenH264 plugin in Firefox?

Many streaming videos rely on the H.264 codec in order to work. Because of licensing restrictions, H.264 is not available for open source software like Firefox. Instead, Firefox uses its open source alternative, OpenH264, to support video calls.

OpenH264 is released in collaboration with Cisco and Mozilla. It is automatically installed by Mozilla on your Firefox browser to enable video calls with devices that require the H.264 codec.