2369
Google engineers want to introduce DRMs for web pages, making ad-blocking near-impossible in the browser (github.com)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
845 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

And since you won't be able to modify web pages, it will also mean the end of customization, either for looks (ie. DarkReader, Stylus), conveniance (ie. Tampermonkey) or accessibility.

The community feedback is... interesting to say the least.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 14 points 3 years ago (8 children)

I'm old enough to remember when the line was "IE has 90% marketshare and nothing's going to change that"

Yes the landscape is different now, but these are free apps and there are competitors out there. It takes only a few minutes to switch to Firefox. Google's hold on this market is not as ironclad as people may think.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 8 child comments
    •
  • [–] 10 points 3 years ago (5 children)

    Mozilla Foundation is kept alive with Google money, for the express purpose of being able to show there's an alternative and that Chrome is not technically a monopoly. But Firefox will never challenge Chrome on anything that truly matters.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 3 years ago

    Mozilla Foundation is kept alive with Google money, for the express purpose of being able to show there’s an alternative and that Chrome is not technically a monopoly.

    Circa 1997: Apple, Inc is kept alive with Microsoft money ($150 million), for the express purpose of being able to show there's an alternative and that Windows is not technically a monopoly.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    This a conspiracy, or validated claim? Either way, I believe it.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    You have https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-05-05/why-google-keeps-paying-mozilla-s-firefox-even-as-chrome-dominates (I haven't read that article because I didn't allow javascript there or something), and https://www.wired.com/2011/12/why-google-continues-to-fund-firefox/

    Not necessarily explicitly supporting the claim made above, but the information is interesting.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    Thanks. Can't say I'm surprised..

    Seems a necessary arrangement to keep Mozilla alive and Google on the throne. After reading that, I doubt it's possible for Firefox to ever get out from under Google's wing, but I can see Google eventually tossing Firefox from the nest. I guess that's how business works...

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 7 points 3 years ago* (1 child)

    If Google gets this going, Firefox has the choice of either adopting the same DRM support or being perceived as that browser where websites don't work properly like they do in Chrome. It'll be hard to persuade people who don't understand what's going on to adopt it out of principle. Something like this already happened with the media DRM support that browsers currently have.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •