google is introducing an API for websites to request a cryptographic attestation that your browser is the official version that it claims to be - that is, not some other browser pretending to be chrome, or a modified version of chrome. apple has had an API to do this for years, and nobody seemed to mind that, but google is pushing it as a standard that any browser could implement and that’s made a lot of people very angry.
the main concern seems to be that it will squeeze smaller browsers that don’t implement it out of the market. in response, smaller browsers are apparently choosing not to implement it.
Google is trying to add code to it’s chromium software that would functionally allow for DRM between you and a website. It would be a huge blow to your ability to control ads and what software runs on your PC when you connect to a site.
I haven’t been following this. What’s happening?
google is introducing an API for websites to request a cryptographic attestation that your browser is the official version that it claims to be - that is, not some other browser pretending to be chrome, or a modified version of chrome. apple has had an API to do this for years, and nobody seemed to mind that, but google is pushing it as a standard that any browser could implement and that’s made a lot of people very angry.
the main concern seems to be that it will squeeze smaller browsers that don’t implement it out of the market. in response, smaller browsers are apparently choosing not to implement it.
Google is trying to add code to it’s chromium software that would functionally allow for DRM between you and a website. It would be a huge blow to your ability to control ads and what software runs on your PC when you connect to a site.