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Wait wait. So Google kills off third party cookies, but then creates some new “more private” workaround, perhaps relying on some kind of trusted servers (called

Wait wait. So Google kills off third party cookies, but then creates some new “more private” workaround, perhaps relying on some kind of trusted servers (called “FLEDGE” in the article). And then, who gets to run those servers? Even if it’s not Google, it’s probably not just anyone, right? Does that lead to a situation where there’s some authority or group of authorities that decides whether you or your startup gets to track users? And would you suppose it would be free for anyone to join this list of approved advertisers? Or might there be a fee, or some conditions to apply? This reminds me of a thread a few days ago where an open source browser was denied access to Google’s Widevine DRM, without which the browser would be pretty much useless for most consumers who’d like to be able to watch Netflix and such. No small-fry browsers allowed. Good luck getting out of that Catch-22. And of another thread where it came up that if you’re trying to get a search engine off the ground, a large chunk of the internet will probably block your crawler bot, so good luck building up that search index. Not all these things are Google’s doing (well, not that last one anyway)... but it sure starts to feel like the open web is closing up around us.

hashkb 6y ago
The "open web" only barely ever existed; MSIE killed it and Chrome is just a better weapon in the hands of a next generation monopoly.
- minikites 6y ago
  And now with Facebook and Twitter, the idea of the "open web" is irrelevant to most people since they get everything they want or need from those two places.
  - yepthatsreality 6y ago
    This will bounce back. What happened is that you have a large percentage of people who chose not to advance their computer skills. Instead they "mastered Microsoft Office suite" for a bullet point on a resume and were presented the internet as a suite of websites. These people are our peers. However as more and more people are taught about coding and networking we will see a demise in the size of the former and the embrace of the open web again. They will be advertised the web as a platform for networking services and products. Of course this all will take place by stopping Google and other corporations from monopolizing the web with help from our locked-in peers. ;)
dodobirdlord 6y ago
> And then, who gets to run those servers? Even if it’s not Google, it’s probably not just anyone, right? Does that lead to a situation where there’s some authority or group of authorities that decides whether you or your startup gets to track users? And would you suppose it would be free for anyone to join this list of approved advertisers? Or might there be a fee, or some conditions to apply? This is how DNS, the IP address system, and the gTLD/ccTLD registrar list works, and it works just fine.
- dceddia 6y ago
  Maybe this is just my cynicism shining through, but I'm not sure I trust Google, or really most modern companies, to create something that wouldn't mainly be for their own benefit.
  - colordrops 6y ago
    You don't really need to couch your statement with "Maybe this is just my cynicism" considering the daily news stories for years about the sociopathic behavior of many companies including google. It's absurd that anyone even defends these monstrosities let alone attacks anyone that suggests they are not trustworthy.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]

hashkb 6y ago

The "open web" only barely ever existed; MSIE killed it and Chrome is just a better weapon in the hands of a next generation monopoly.

minikites 6y ago
And now with Facebook and Twitter, the idea of the "open web" is irrelevant to most people since they get everything they want or need from those two places.
- yepthatsreality 6y ago
  This will bounce back. What happened is that you have a large percentage of people who chose not to advance their computer skills. Instead they "mastered Microsoft Office suite" for a bullet point on a resume and were presented the internet as a suite of websites. These people are our peers. However as more and more people are taught about coding and networking we will see a demise in the size of the former and the embrace of the open web again. They will be advertised the web as a platform for networking services and products. Of course this all will take place by stopping Google and other corporations from monopolizing the web with help from our locked-in peers. ;)

dodobirdlord 6y ago

> And then, who gets to run those servers? Even if it’s not Google, it’s probably not just anyone, right? Does that lead to a situation where there’s some authority or group of authorities that decides whether you or your startup gets to track users? And would you suppose it would be free for anyone to join this list of approved advertisers? Or might there be a fee, or some conditions to apply? This is how DNS, the IP address system, and the gTLD/ccTLD registrar list works, and it works just fine.

dceddia 6y ago
Maybe this is just my cynicism shining through, but I'm not sure I trust Google, or really most modern companies, to create something that wouldn't mainly be for their own benefit.
- colordrops 6y ago
  You don't really need to couch your statement with "Maybe this is just my cynicism" considering the daily news stories for years about the sociopathic behavior of many companies including google. It's absurd that anyone even defends these monstrosities let alone attacks anyone that suggests they are not trustworthy.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]