Google is working on essentially putting DRM on the web

jherazob@beehaw.org to Technology@beehaw.org – 916 points –
github.com

The much maligned "Trusted Computing" idea requires that the party you are supposed to trust deserves to be trusted, and Google is DEFINITELY NOT worthy of being trusted, this is a naked power grab to destroy the open web for Google's ad profits no matter the consequences, this would put heavy surveillance in Google's hands, this would eliminate ad-blocking, this would break any and all accessibility features, this would obliterate any competing platform, this is very much opposed to what the web is.

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This is why we need Firefox.

And Firefox needs to be a market that can't be ignored.

@TheYang Exactly! Came here to say this. Everybody actively using chromium based browsers is a part of the problem.

Or even if Microsoft edge disables this

Stop with this excuse and stop Insulting people. I've been on Firefox for nearly 20 years, but Mozilla has ruined it for me little by little. The last straw has been the horrible UI redesign. So I switched to a Chromium browser. Tell Mozilla to make a better browser and to listen to their community, instead of blaming people for using what serves them best.

What does your UI gripe have to do with this biased tabloid piece you shared?

Firefox is fine and works even better than it ever has. If you cared about the UI so much you'd have tried any of its forks that use different and older designs.

Firefox depends on google for funding though. Google could probably deal a killing blow quite easily.

i think they probably donate so much to make sure they have at least one competitor so they don't get busted up like Standard Oil

I'm skeptical if the government would even do that given how stacked it is with cronies

Don't know what government you're referring to, but if the EU anti-trust regulation kicks in it will affect everyone. EU agencies are slow but they do their job eventually.

Yeah I think they are still in court with the EU. If Mozilla fell, the EU would almost certainly come after chrome immediately.

Man, I hope the EU pulls the trigger on Google. They are way, way overdue for getting broken up. It's insane how easily they can change the entire internet on a whim with zero oversight. The Biden admin will never do it.

They are not donating, if I remember correctly fairly recently Microsoft outbid them and bing was default for a bit.

But maybe I'm not remembering correctly tbh.

Vote with your wallet. I recently increased my monthly donation to Mozilla.

I thought I read somewhere that donations to Mozilla legally can’t go to Firefox.

Indeed. Donations go to Mozilla Foundations for their activities (advocacy and whatever). Firefox is developed by Mozilla Corp.,whom can't legally receive donations.

They do that because of Firefox goes, Google is open to being trust busted. Killing Firefox would be literal suicide for Google

Mozilla is trying to reduce its dependency on the Google search deal. The dependence is big, but Mozilla has some reserves and receives the money for channeling searches to Google. They could and already make such deals with other search providers.

I've never donated to Mozilla before, but will now.

Great idea, Mozilla does good things for the internet. Though, please keep in mind that donations to Mozilla never reach Firefox. That is, as donations go to the foundation, a non-profit, while Firefox is developed by a for-profit subsidiary.

Firefox will most likely support this, if it doesn't want to get cut off from most of the web.

However, it would be nice to have a Firefox or Chromium fork with a switch to disable the "feature", an option to remove any links to websites requiring this stuff, and some search engine free of links to websites requiring it.

However non technical folk will not be able to or really be interested in all that and will just download the regular browser and leave the option enabled. This only gets traction if the option it turned off by default.

Firefox will most likely support this, if it doesn’t want to get cut off from most of the web.

well, if more people used Firefox websites couldn't just throw them under the bus, which is why I said it's so important.
We'll have to see, but I'd hope Firefox puts up at least some resistance.