Google abandons Web Environment Integrity – Simplified Privacy
simplifiedprivacy.com

Google has abandoned the “Web Environment Integrity” API that was supposed to allow websites to only allow approved and verified browser environments. The plan would allow websites to reject browser or even OS modifications that were “unattested” for the purpose of supposedly stopping bots, piracy, ad-blocking, and other activity Google deemed to be malicious. However, critics of the plan called it corrupt tyranny in which Google flexes it’s muscles to control the entire internet.

The plan was rejected from Firefox and Brave browsers, and could potentially shut Linux users out of many websites as there would be no telemetry company to “verify” the operating system was not modified. Further, some said it was an outright attempt by Google to force people to submit to the API even if they didn’t want to use Chrome browser.

Now this horrible tyrannical plan from Google was abandoned after severe “community backlash”, however it could see a limited version for Android Chrome only when embedded into apps themselves. Some privacy advocates criticize this move as merely a trial testing ground, where they can prove to websites and services that the concept works and then try to push it to a larger audience. These critics call for a boycott of the apps that use this functionality.

We can only hope these rotten Google executives can abandon their plans for world domination and the submission of all knowledge to pass through their ad tracking software.

https://simplifiedprivacy.com/google-abandons-web-environment-integrity/

  • BlackPit@feddit.chEnglish
    61·
    1 year ago

    Taking the win. Celebrating the fact there was a big enough backlash to get Google to pull their head in.

        • intrepid@lemmy.caEnglish
          2·
          1 year ago

          You’re right - for the time being. But what I’m not willing to do, is give them the benefit of the doubt. They’re just waiting for all this backlash to blow over. Then they will start extending it to other components and eventually to the net, under some other name.

  • SGG@lemmy.worldEnglish
    36·
    1 year ago

    Sadly with all this evil crap now days, they’ll bring it back in a few weeks or months, rename it to the "won’t somebody think of the children API"with a massive ad campaign saying anyone or any website not using the API are r*ping kids…

  • Blizzard@lemmy.zipEnglish
    26·
    1 year ago

    I don’t believe them. They will try to do it again, slightly modified, under a different name, but they WILL try to introduce it again.

      • intrepid@lemmy.caEnglish
        5·
        1 year ago

        No. That’s round 3. Round 2 is already announced - they are ‘restricting’ environment integrity to multimedia on Android webview. Of course, what they don’t say is that the feature is going to be developed and tested outside the view of the general public - since this doesn’t need to go through a public standardization like web specifications. Once they get that perfected, they will silently expand its scope outside webview and gradually into browsers with a new name. That’s round 3.

  • disconnectikacio@lemmy.worldEnglish
    14·
    1 year ago

    Disgusting piece of craps! All should continue to open eyes, against google. They wont stop!

    Spread the word to install firefox based browser, use different frontends to block youtube ads in browser, Invidious and use piped youtube apps on android to block youtbe ads: Newpipe

    • intrepid@lemmy.caEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      While I agree with that sentiment, I really wish people use something other than YouTube. I wish peertube or even paid platforms like nebula take off.

  • Papanca@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    1 year ago

    They will tweak the most unimportant detail and say; we listened to you, now take it!

  • Sphere@reddthat.comEnglish
    9·
    1 year ago

    This was an utterly terrible idea to begin with and it’s still a terrible idea for Android apps as well. Apart from messing with ad blockers, this has the ironically “helpful” feature of allowing malware to be force loaded into your browser. If it ends up in Android, some popular app that uses it will get owned and then every user of the app will also end up getting owned as well.