There might have be a time when Google tried not to be evil, but they’ve been Satin himself for a good number of years now. It just took them a while to realize the irony of their mission statement. It’s funny I used to get mad at Microsoft for being evil, but they’ve got nothing on Google.
Web dev here. It enforces the original markup and code from a server to be the markup and code that the browser interprets and executes, preventing any post-loading modifications.
That sounds a bit dry, but the implications are huge. It means:
ad blockers won’t work (the main reason for Google’s ploy)
many, if not most, other browser extensions won’t work (eg.: accessibility, theming, anti-malware)
people are going to start running into a lot of scam ads that ad blockers would otherwise prevent
malicious websites will be able to operate with impunity since you cannot run security extensions to prevent them
web developers are going to be crippled for lack of debugging ability
These are just a few things off the top of my head. There are endless and very dangerous implications to WEI. This is very, very bad for the web and antithesis of how it’s supposed to be.
TBL is probably experiencing a sudden disturbance in the force.
Wouldn’t it be possible to create some kind of “post-browser” that takes input from the web browser and displays it after passing it through ad blockers and whatever else?
Such an abstraction, while unnecessary, should be possible, providing that Google doesn’t forcibly prevent access to the final markup that coalesces (ie.: view source and web dev tools)
Imagine you’re a builder and you build a store (website). People can come into your store through the door or window. WEI will make sure you come through the door just as the builder intended.
At face value, that sounds fine, but now imagine that builder puts a maze (all of the ads littered on a webpage) on the other side of the door. It’s a pain in the ass to get through and someone (adblock) has told you about the window that lets you skip the maze. You can get what you want and the store gets to sell a thing. Everyone’s happy except the maze builder (Google), so they’re trying to force the entire world to go through the maze.
Presently web servers send data to your browser, which can arrange the content however you wish, because it’s your browser on your device. Excluding content you don’t like is fairly trivial.
This drm stuff will basically make the browser refuse to display anything unless the whole page is unaltered.
Does unaltered include things like colorblind extension that change colors to more easily differentiate between some red/green for example? Or stuff like reddit enhancement suite? Sounds like a good way to kill other possible useful extensions.
That’s exactly what it will do. Don’t believe the bullshit in their “non-goals” section, they don’t give a fuck. If accessibility extensions happen to continue working (at least temporarily), it will be by accident, because they for damn sure aren’t going to spend even a second on compatibility.
Shit man, this would ruin even the small internet. I won’t even be able to cheat on dragcave. And most of what I was doing was keeping a tally of my collection since the site doesn’t do that. But there’s no way page modifications wouldn’t be caught and punished no matter what they actually do.
Don’tbe evil.Be Evil, Do Ads
There might have be a time when Google tried not to be evil, but they’ve been Satin himself for a good number of years now. It just took them a while to realize the irony of their mission statement. It’s funny I used to get mad at Microsoft for being evil, but they’ve got nothing on Google.
They removed ‘don’t be evil’ from their code of conduct 5 years ago.
https://time.com/4060575/alphabet-google-dont-be-evil/
Can you explain this to a layman what this does?
Web dev here. It enforces the original markup and code from a server to be the markup and code that the browser interprets and executes, preventing any post-loading modifications.
That sounds a bit dry, but the implications are huge. It means:
These are just a few things off the top of my head. There are endless and very dangerous implications to WEI. This is very, very bad for the web and antithesis of how it’s supposed to be.
TBL is probably experiencing a sudden disturbance in the force.
Wouldn’t it be possible to create some kind of “post-browser” that takes input from the web browser and displays it after passing it through ad blockers and whatever else?
Such an abstraction, while unnecessary, should be possible, providing that Google doesn’t forcibly prevent access to the final markup that coalesces (ie.: view source and web dev tools)
The only acceptable browser would obviously be ones that restrict that access, how else are they going to force people to see all their ads?
Perhaps, but it’s not as simple as it sounds.
Most of the Web requires js to work. I don’t think the js will work without the DRM.
So the proxy would need to be running the js, and emulate your clicks and so on.
It’s DRM, but for the whole web.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/07/googles-web-integrity-api-sounds-like-drm-for-the-web/
Imagine you’re a builder and you build a store (website). People can come into your store through the door or window. WEI will make sure you come through the door just as the builder intended.
At face value, that sounds fine, but now imagine that builder puts a maze (all of the ads littered on a webpage) on the other side of the door. It’s a pain in the ass to get through and someone (adblock) has told you about the window that lets you skip the maze. You can get what you want and the store gets to sell a thing. Everyone’s happy except the maze builder (Google), so they’re trying to force the entire world to go through the maze.
Wait Google can place ads on my website without my permission?
You’re the builder, and thus the one who can choose to put a maze there or not.
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If this becomes heavily used, I will probably go back to reading books for entertainment instead of browsing the web.
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My books aren’t digital at all. How can they have DRM?
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So basically, anyone consuming the internet in any shape or form other than the intended by corporate owners is automatically dead in the water.
Man, I can’t go back to ad-full, sponsor-skipless youtube… It’s too awful.
Edge is Chromium
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It’s a way to disable ad blockers.
Presently web servers send data to your browser, which can arrange the content however you wish, because it’s your browser on your device. Excluding content you don’t like is fairly trivial.
This drm stuff will basically make the browser refuse to display anything unless the whole page is unaltered.
Does unaltered include things like colorblind extension that change colors to more easily differentiate between some red/green for example? Or stuff like reddit enhancement suite? Sounds like a good way to kill other possible useful extensions.
That’s exactly what it will do. Don’t believe the bullshit in their “non-goals” section, they don’t give a fuck. If accessibility extensions happen to continue working (at least temporarily), it will be by accident, because they for damn sure aren’t going to spend even a second on compatibility.
Shit man, this would ruin even the small internet. I won’t even be able to cheat on dragcave. And most of what I was doing was keeping a tally of my collection since the site doesn’t do that. But there’s no way page modifications wouldn’t be caught and punished no matter what they actually do.
Yes.