Google's Web Integrity Android API could kill alternative media clients | Hacker News Reader

Google's Web Integrity Android API could kill alternative media clients

arstechnica.com

57 pointsleotravis1011 comments

Does the YouTube Android app even use WebView?

If not, then this has nothing to do with YouTube. Even if Vanced used WebView, I assume it was pretending to be a regular browser, so there is no way the site could require attestation.

Um, how? The alternative client can just pretend to be a generic browser, which wouldn't have an attestation API.

The future Google and others have in mind will require remote attestation for access to media/banking/social media etc. This is part of the groundwork. See also TPM 2.0 requirements for Windows 11 and rapid deprecation of Windows 10.

It is reasonable to be concerned about what Google may do in the future. They have too much power. All the tech giants do.

However, I can only comment on what Google is actually proposing. In the future, Google could do anything, regardless of whether or not this Android API exists.

>rapid deprecation of Windows 10.

"rapid"? It's in line with their lifecycle policy when windows 10 came out.

When Windows 10 came out, the messaging was that its lifecycle was probably indefinite: https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-10-may-be-last-versio...

If you read carefully, that claim was made by a "developer evangelist" and was no way an official statement from Microsoft corporate itself.

or like Widevine CDM?

This. As long as any client can connect to it without attestation, things like NewPipe will remain working. I don't understand this fearmongering sometimes.

If Google pulls a stunt like this could it be grounds for some kind of discrimination lawsuit?

It seems to me like they are effectively trying to limit your OS choice to one they have sanctioned. What if you want to compile and run your own OS?

OS isn't a protected class (though it definitely should be)

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