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this post was submitted on 12 Oct 2023
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On what grounds? I know why google wants this, but why would the average website do this?
I can already picture Google down-ranking search results for any website that doesn't implement it because obviously "if they aren't using the integrity API we can't guarantee they're safe for our users"
Which... would just de-value Google Search, no?
This is the process Cory Doctorow termed “enshittification.” Services start out by prioritizing functionality for the users, even running at a loss to do so. This is one reason why new companies have a massive burn rate compared to their income.
The second step is they stop prioritizing users and start prioritizing “partners.” Those could be news sources, sellers, whatever. User functionality is compromised to optimize the “partner” experience.
Finally, they start to fuck over partners too, in order to shovel as much money as possible into the company’s accounts. Facebook did it with news sites - especially video. Twitter is doing a speed run on this. Google is accused of being well on its way with search, and I have no idea about their other services.
So, yes, Google may fuck up search just like Facebook fucked up their feed and Twitter is fucking up absolutely everything.
They've already fucked it up. I've moved on to ddg, which is something I thought I would ever do five years ago. If the ddg integration with bing goes south, then I'll start looking into things like kagi.
To people who know what's going on sure, but for most users, if its not on the first page of Google it doesn't exist.
The 'average' website wouldn't but many of the social giants are desperately looking for a way to limit bot use. So Google gives them what they want and simultaneously gets to be the most reliable advertiser, ensuring impressions are viewed by not just a human but the right human.
How does this limit bot use? Is there something anti bot about chromium? Or does the api do more beyond checking for chromium compatible browsers
Because websites will check if you have a Web Integrity token being sent along by the browser and if it cannot find one registrations and login will be closed to your instance.
Edit: And to clarify, you will not get that token unless you verify your identity within the associated google account. Hence why only Chromium browsers will support this. But it isn't about the browser. It's about the token.
But that token is just provided by the browser, isnt it? Can bots not run within an instance of a chromium browser? I dont get how this stops a bot account.
Yeah sorry I just clarified. Read my comment higher up in the thread for more details. The token is generated upon verification of user identity.
This goes with other changes they did to chromium. Google claims it is to prevent bots, but it really is a crackdown on ads blocking and any other "tampering" with their websites.
If you care about keeping web free, you should stop using chrome and its derivatives and switch to Firefox. They are believing that Firefox user base is low and websites can simply exclude FF and force it to implement it as well.