The Rush to “Deprecate” HTTP
Google and Mozilla and others want force all non-HTTPS sites to become HTTPS.
And while the name HTTPS sounds a lot like HTTP, it’s actually a lot more complex and fraught with problems. If what they want to do ever happens, much of the independent web will disappear.
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Given that a vast amount of content likely won’t move, Google and Mozilla are contemplating far more vandalism to the web than any of the ISPs they’re trying to short-circuit.
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[The tech industry is] run by people who shoot first and ask questions later. This is an awful way to be having this discussion, after the decision is made, without any recourse?
Update (2015-06-16): Dave Winer:
In the tweet, people thought I was writing about protecting whistleblowers, or circumventing the control of the entertainment industry, both worthy causes. But what I am protecting is much more fundamental -- the right of the people to use the web as a space to speak their mind without interference from government and corporations. It’s as fundamental as the First Amendment of the US Constitution. I’ve created dozens of websites over the 20-plus years I’ve been writing on the web that don’t support HTTPS and never will. It would be too much work, and too expensive, and would cede control of the content to yet another administrative body. I refuse. You should too.
The problem is the other two apps. They all rely on the open web rather than servers controlled by the app writer. And it would be unacceptable to limit those apps to https only.
Let’s also consider my two secret-project Mac apps. Both of them need http access — they’re not limited to servers that I (or some corporation) control.
Since neither app will be sandboxed, I’ll be able to do this without Apple’s approval. My concern, of course, is that this situation won’t last.
