There's been a lot of concern recently about the Web Environment Integrity proposal, developed by a selection of authors from Google, and…

Apple has deployed a system called Private Access Tokens that allows web servers to verify if a device is legitimate before granting access. This works by having the browser request a signed token from Apple proving the device is approved. While this currently has limited impact due to Safari’s market share, there are concerns that attestation systems restrict competition, user control, and innovation by only approving certain devices and software. Attestation could lead to approved providers tightening rules over time, blocking modified operating systems and browsers. While proponents argue for holdbacks to limit blocking, business pressures may make that infeasible and Google’s existing attestation does not do holdbacks. Fundamentally, attestation is seen as anti-competitive by potentially blocking competition between browsers and operating systems on the web.

  • Neato@kbin.social
    60·
    11 months ago

    Expect corporations to be lazy. Just look at how every website handles cookies now. They could do it smartly, limit their cookie exposure, or only send the messages to IPs in the EU. But they just put an “accept all cookies or get out” OK box on your screen. And that’s what they’re going to do once attestation gets popular.

    Sites will just require an attestation token and likely only accept ones from Safari and Chromium browsers since those are the ones pushing it. That will effectively make Firefox, Opera and other browsers incompatible with those websites. And once it catches on or becomes law somewhere, it’ll be the entire internet. It’s an extremely anticompetitive measure and it’s internet-wide DRM. Fuck. that.

    • HeartyBeast@kbin.social
      24·
      11 months ago

      But they just put an “accept all cookies or get out” OK box on your screen.

      Which doesn’t comply with GDPR

      • blindsight@beehaw.org
        18·
        11 months ago

        Which only affects companies doing business in the EU. Granted, that’s most of the big players.

        Very grateful for the EU to unfuck most of the world from a lot of American regulatory capture.

    • BubblyMango@lemmy.wtf
      7·
      11 months ago

      Opera is chromium based though.

      You dont even need this DRM bullshit to become law. Chrome will simply put a warning before entering websites without it that goes “this website doesnt use name of a technology the user doesnt understand and therefore might be dangerous”. Thats it. Every and all websites will immediatly implement this DRM bullshit or die.