VOICES
Essay
people behind the standardisation of the web and the
development community, and resulted in <std-toast>
not being used across other browser engines.
Mozilla, its developers and community hold a different
vision for the web. They’re more focused on an ad-free
future, where monetisation of data isn’t at the heart of
business models. Their work in this area helped Apple- in light of its brand standing that is rooted in privacy
- rethink the amount of data Safari was capturing about
users. This reduces the amount of data that can be sold
to target ads to people based on browsing behaviour.
Microsoft’s Edge team recently made changes to the
Chromium engine, which means users will soon be able
to move multiple tabs to a new window. It’s a small step
but a positive one that comes from the benefits of open-
source projects. This shows that browser developers do
have the ability to create change for the better of people
using the web together.
MORE CHROMIUM-POWERED
BROWSERS: THE OPPORTUNITIES
AND ISSUES
So what are the opportunities? Having outlined what
developers can and are doing to challenge monopolies,
it’s also important to explore the problems and the
increased usage opportunities that Google’s Chromium
engine presents.
G o o g l e a s a br a n d h a s h e lp e d t o f u r t h e r t h e c on v e r s at i on
around accessibility. Firstly, it holds the space in which
the conversation about accessibility typically happens- it invests a lot of money in talking about it globally.
Secondly, a Chromium engine powers Opera, which is
the main assistive browser. Thirdly, Microsoft and Google
working together using a Chromium engine could
improve accessibility support across browsers.
Chromium-powered browsers also mean more people
can enjoy richer web-based experiences – this now
e x tends to Edge users. T his is because Chrom ium, un l i ke
the older Microsoft engine, allows for progressive web
appl ications and scalable components – core features of
a modern browsing experience - to be part of the
browsing experience of more people.
So what are the potential issues? There’s a number of
problems connected to Google’s si ze and power. Chrome
has historically had the support of developers due to the
tooling facilities that enable exploration, iterative
development and even the powering of unique
applications like Brave.
That said, Firefox’s tool set is expanding quickly and
differently from Chrome’s performance-focused feature
set. Firefox’s approach has recently focused on CSS layout
inspection and it led the effort of supporting the full
CSS grid specification. As a result, we’ve seen big names
in the web community publicly stating their move away
from Chrome to take full advantage of such features.
Google’s attitude could be at times described as
avoiding the conversation about basic web standards.
Changes made have ignored the normal approval and
considerat ion loop on mult iple occasions. In some w ays,
its size has led to the company setting these standards
across the web. This means potentially harmful or
exploitative changes could go live, without proper checks
conducted by a third party.
More people are aware of generally exploitative
practices; however, they still cannot interrogate the
technology in a way that would be meaningful without
help from people like us.
The increased adoption of a Chromium-based engine
gives Google more control over future browser
development and the direction of the web. This means
development is conducted on the terms of what Google
most finds appropriate.
Also, with more Chromium browsers around, people
may fear for their privacy. Although the link between
the Chromium-powered browsers and Google exploiting
data isn’t cause and effect, greater use could make for
increased targeted advertising whilst increasing the
scope for the exploitation of privacy concerns. However,
with current versions of Edge, download privacy settings
are enabled as default. The question is, how will Google
react? For example, could more aggressive messaging
on plugin downloads from Edge become the norm?
These issues don’t even touch on reports of Microsoft
using dark UX patterns and advertising techniques to
encourage users at start-up to move away from Firefox,
towards its new Chromium-powered engine.DUTY OF CARE
T here is a need for developers to be good stew ards of the
internet. We are the people with the know-how of the
techniques and practices tech companies use. We can
unpick the rationale and motivation behind their
decisions. With that in mind, we need to use our voices
to share our concerns when we see movements like
Microsoft adopting a Chromium-powered engine.
Developers have a duty to educate users, when this
w i l l help to shape the browser landscape. We need to act
in this way if we want to see a diverse future and not a
monopoly. Whether that’s switching to a different
browser based on the data usage policy of the vendor, or
publicly voicing dissent about vendors’ practices – we
all have a part to play in making the internet – and the
browsers we use to access it – better. This can and will
help to maintain diversity in the face of monopoly.P
ROFI
LE Turco is a senior front-end developer at
Foolproof, an experience design company with
offices in the UK and Singapore that delivers
digital products and services globally.
w: http://www.foolproof.co.uk