There’s a mini-scandal roiling the Internet making the claim that Google is blocking some Linux browsers. It apparently started when onedoer complained on the KDE subreddit that he could no longer log in to Google services with Falkon or Konqueror. Since then, many others have taken up the story. There’s been a bit of pushback, though. Many commenters have said they’ve had no problems and, of course, Google hasn’t commented or answered any questions.
The thing I found interesting about the story is the reasons Google gives for not supporting a browser. Google says these restrictions are for security and to protect users’ accounts but the first reason given is that the browser doesn’t support JavaScript or has it turned off. That seems odd. Since when is an enabled JavaScript a security benefit? It isn’t, of course, because it allows the Web site to get into all sorts of mischief.
Google, of course, isn’t dealing malware in the traditional sense but it is very interested in tracking our Internet habits for which it depends on JavaScript. One might be excused, therefore, for suspecting that the real reason to block these browsers is that they don’t support tracking or at least not as much tracking as Google would like. No one outside of Google seems to know for sure and Google isn’t talking.
Meanwhile, DHH claims that Google isn’t a search engine, it’s an ad engine. He’s definitely not a fan and says that “Google is a tax on the internet.” Who could disagree? As I’ve said many times before, if you don’t like being spied on get rid of as many Google services as you can. It’s hard to be 100% Google-free but you can get rid of the most invasive apps—like Gmail, Search, and Google Suite—pretty easily. It’s worth the effort.