[It's FOSS News] Google's New Web Environment Integrity Proposal Dismissed by Brave, Mozilla, and Vivaldi

I doubt google cares very much.

Imagine if everyone used a browser made by an advertising company.

Good, but like all other evil motions like this, they'll just take a short break, rebrand it / rework it / rename it / etc... and try again. And again. And again. Until everyone gets tired.

We have to stay diligent and keep defeating these assholes every time they try to take over the entire internet.

Well, that's nearly 3% of the market.

Google's plan is foiled once again.

Doesn't matter. Websites will break on the rest of the browsers. Users will complain. All browsers now have Web DRM

Mozilla:

Mozilla opposes this proposal...

I wish they took a stronger stance like Brave:

We won’t be shipping WEI support

C'mon Mozilla, show some gonads.

Building dystopias is a trend nowadays. The only difference is that some do it openly, while others trying to brand it as security benefits.

Apple are the only other ones big enough to throw their weight around. Hopefully they join in.

Write to your country’s anti-trust body if you feel Google is unilaterally going after the open web with WEI (content below taken from HN thread https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36880390).

US:

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        https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/report-antitrust-violation
    antitrust@ftc.gov


  

EU:

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        https://competition-policy.ec.europa.eu/antitrust/contact_en
    comp-greffe-antitrust@ec.europa.eu


  

UK:

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        https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tell-the-cma-about-a-competition…
    general.enquiries@cma.gov.uk


  

India:

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        https://www.cci.gov.in/antitrust/
    https://www.cci.gov.in/filing/atd


  

Example email:

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        Google has proposed a new Web Environment Integrity standard, outlined here: https://github.com/RupertBenWiser/Web-Environment-Integrity/blob/main/explainer.md

    This standard would allow Google applications to block users who are not using Google products like Chrome or Android, and encourages other web developers to do the same, with the goal of eliminating ad blockers and competing web browsers.

    Google has already begun implementing this in their browser here: https://github.com/chromium/chromium/commit/6f47a22906b2899412e79a2727355efa9cc8f5bd

    Basic facts:

        Google is a developer of popular websites such as google.com and youtube.com (currently the two most popular websites in the world according to SimilarWeb)
        Google is the developer of the most popular browser in the world, Chrome, with around 65% of market share. Most other popular browsers are based on Chromium, also developed primarily by Google.
        Google is the developer of the most popular mobile operating system in the world, Android, with around 70% of market share.

    Currently, Google’s websites can be viewed on any web-standards-compliant browser on a device made by any manufacturer. This WEI proposal would allow Google websites to reject users that are not running a Google-approved browser on a Google-approved device. For example, Google could require that Youtube or Google Search can only be viewed using an official Android app or the Chrome browser, thereby noncompetitively locking consumers into using Google products while providing no benefit to those consumers.

    Google is also primarily an ad company, with the majority of its revenue coming from ads. Google’s business model is challenged by browsers that do not show ads the way Google intends. This proposal would encourage any web developer using Google’s ad services to reject users that are not running a verified Google-approved version of Chrome, to ensure ads are viewed the way the advertiser wishes. This is not a hypothetical hidden agenda, it is explicitly stated in the proposal:

    “Users like visiting websites that are expensive to create and maintain, but they often want or need to do it without paying directly. These websites fund themselves with ads, but the advertisers can only afford to pay for humans to see the ads, rather than robots. This creates a need for human users to prove to websites that they’re human, sometimes through tasks like challenges or logins.”

    The proposed solution here is to allow web developers to reject any user that cannot prove they have viewed Google-served ads with their own human eyes.

    It is essential to combat this proposal now, while it is still in an early stage. Once this is rolled out into Chrome and deployed around the world, it will be extremely difficult to rollback. It may be impossible to prevent this proposal if Google is allowed to continue owning the entire stack of website, browser, operating system, and hardware.

    Thank you for your consideration of this important issue.
  

and all of the world with basic knowledge about privacy and all users who doesnt use the google chrome browser.

This will go through. Firefox already caved on the video/audio DRM last time, and even if they don't, people will just switch browsers. The only thing that could do anything about this are powerful governments and maybe Apple. But Google has bribed all of Washington and half of Brussels at this point, and I imagine the press actually likes the idea of putting DRM on their shitty websites, so they won't make a big stink I don't think, even though they beef with Google. If Apple actually drags their feet I'm sure Google can bribe them.

Thank goodness the other browsers are sane enough not to buy into Google's bullshit. But it does feel like it's only gonna be a matter of time until Google wins, given their massive market share and all that.

Good