2y ago

Google is already pushing WEI(DRM Webpage) into Chromium

github.com

[wei] Ensure Origin Trial enables full feature · chromium/chromium@6f47a22

149 comments

What is WEI?
- Stands for Web Environment Integrity. Beyond that, I know nothing.
  
  DRM in the web.
  
  excuse my ignorance, what is DRM?
  
  Digital Rights Management. Usually DRM agreements are imbedded in the terms and conditions no one reads when they install software. It usually gives the software vendor the right to monitor your use of the software in real time via the internet.
  Within the context of Chrome and other Chromium based web browsers, this means that Google will be able to monitor your web browsing in a new way any time you're using a browser based on Chrome/Chromium.
  
  Within the context of Chrome and other Chromium based web browsers, this means that Google will be able to monitor your web browsing in a new way any time you’re using a browser based on Chrome/Chromium.
  With only slight hyperbole, we can say that Google can do this monitoring already.
  What's worse, is now they can:
  Refuse you access to information by refusing to attest your environment.
  Restrict your browser, extensions, and operating system setup by refusing attestation.
  Potentially bring litigation against you for attempting to circumvent DRM (in the USA it's illegal to bypass DRM).
  Leverage their ad network to require web site operators to use attestation if they wish to serve ads via Google. AKA force you to use Chrome to use big websites.
  Derank search results for sites that are not using attestation.
  In my opinion, the least harmful part of this is the ability to monitor page access, because they can more or less do this for Chrome users anyway. What's really harmful here is the potential to restrict access to and destroy practically the entirety of the internet.
  
  excuse my ignorance again, but how would monitoring software use in real time be different than how they currently monitor it? what would it really entail? serving more accurate ads and collecting/selling that more invasive type or information?
  i haven’t looked into privacy much prior to joining lemmy, so i’m not very knowledgeable, but i’m very interested in learning more about it.
  
  Not much, which is why this isn't really a privacy issue. Privacy is already long gone. It's a control issue.
  Think about how many websites use Google Adsense. With this DRM, Google could force those websites to serve content only to users using chromium, and specifically those without adblockers installed. They're trying to subjugate the internet.
  
  Digital Rights Management. Code that prevents you from doing what you want with the information you have.
  
  Thanks.

149 comments