Seeing these 1 2 news for a couple days now and obviously Google's trying to kill open web with this implementation. DRM on web means basically no alteration from user side. Like, if you're using adblock, they can deny your access completely. More like this will affect all browser extensions. Even more terrifyingly if your browser is not trusted by this API you won't be able to use that site. Firstly this will baked into Chromium based browsers. secondly all Google services and lastly any website that uses Google's code-base.

All these started with Manifest v3 and Google is fortifying their business, which is personalized ads. From "Don't be evil" to "How can we be more evil?". Sad.

So, a tiny request from @cg. Please don't use this API when the time has come. Best regards.

What do you think about this?


Edit V: I came upon a post that runs through the whole thing and it's kinda written for non-tech savvy people in mind so hopefully this will reach more people. It's also a good summary of all things related to this, recommending it for everyone.
https://grafcube.codeberg.page/blog/2023/08/06/web-drm-api.html


Edit I: Google employee responded to the negative feedback.
It looks like they're explaining it as if it's the perfect thing to do for open web, except that it's the opposite.

Edit II: A new FSF article has dropped: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/web-environment-integrity-is-an-all-out-attack-on-the-free-internet
I recommend everyone to read it to see how serious is this.

Edit III: An article about Google employee's respond.

Edit IV: Another article about the whole issue.


Edit VI: Google partially cancelled WEI >> https://9to5google.com/2023/11/02/google-chrome-web-integrity-api/.
However they are still going to integrate it into Android WebView.

1 year ago*

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Do you consider stop using Google products after hearing about the webpage DRM they're currently implementing?

View Results
Already did.
Yes.
No.
🥔 Dip dip potato chip 🥔 (We'll see)

Google cancelled WEI, but not entirely. >> https://9to5google.com/2023/11/02/google-chrome-web-integrity-api/
They are still gonna integrate it into Android WebView. It is possible to change WebView with an alternative but only on custom ROMs.

1 year ago
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Wow, thanks for the information. I work in the web sector and was completely unaware of Google's plans regarding WEI. The fact that it's (at least partially) cancelled is good news, but I'm still sharing this everywhere.

1 year ago
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No problem! They are constantly trying it by changing its name, so we probably will see it soon again. While it is a temporary good news, Android part is quite troublesome. They already control almost everything over Play Services, now they will also control apps' web access.

1 year ago
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Well, YouTube already blocked AdBlock for music videos and all that changed is that I stopped listening to music on YouTube lol. And to your other point about some new API they are adding (didn't read any of the info), for any API Google invents, someone will find a way to bypass it.

All they are doing is sabotaging their own products. This is nothing new. Companies get so big they start thinking they can't be replaced. Then someone creates a better alternative and the company falls into oblivion.

1 year ago*
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The problem with the latter part here, when someone creates a better alternative, they cannot replace the old and biggest ones. Because companies like Google and Facebook, neutralize them before getting bigger. That's why they buy small projects and shut them down. If you don't sell, they basically make its copy and yours become obsolete.

1 year ago
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Adblock is basically piracy. No sympathies.

1 year ago
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While it's partially true for honest ads, it's exactly not that simple. Main point here is blocking trackers that invade privacy, not all ads have trackers but all personalized ads have.

I suggest this reading. And this if you have time.

1 year ago
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