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Google abandons “Web Environment Integrity” (simplifiedprivacy.com)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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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/

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[–] Vendetta9076 62 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Abandoned for now. Maybe.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Of course. You didn't think that they would take back a user-hostile greed-motivated feature without an alternative, did you?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

One can use a different mobile OS if they don't like Android at least.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months 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.