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The stated reason for removing blocking from WebRequest is to improve performance, not privacy. If an extension can block a request, Chrome needs to wait for the extension before performing the request. See the WebRequest section in the design document:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nPu6Wy4LWR66EFLeYInl3Nzz...

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So, why not just not install the extension then? This just seems like taking the user's choice away.

In fairness to Google, it's not absurd in principle. Mozilla has dealt with this problem for years: when an extension slows the browser down, the user is more likely to blame the browser than the extension. But in this specific case of ad-blocking extensions, I have a hard time taking Google's justification seriously. Ad blockers speed up the browsing experience far more than whatever negligible processing time the filter process takes.

That's exactly what it is- taking the choice away from the user. There were other options they could have taken- such as warning a user when installing an extension that uses these APIs, or building out a new asynchronous API (like Firefox did).

Instead they choose to go with the option that screws over users but might make them more money.

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