Post #2246212

2026-05-07 07:58 UTC

@slightlyoff@toot.cafe I think you're underestimating the ToS issue. See the problem I laid out here https://github.com/mozilla/standards-positions/issues/1213#issuecomment-4347988313. If we allow APIs to have ToS, it creates an environment where developers are encouraged to block usage in other browsers in case they release with a ToS that'll get them sued.

Replies (2)

@slightlyoff@toot.cafe 2026-05-07 08:05

@jaffathecake@mastodon.social Firefox has ToS for features that interact with web content (e.g., autofill sync). The API surface here is pretty rough because it's a superposition: too general to be interoperable using different local models, and any solution to that involves unlicensable blobs/services. A real problem with this design for, but not bigger than the general interop issue.

Open ##2246213
@jyasskin@hachyderm.io 2026-05-07 19:00

@jaffathecake@mastodon.social @slightlyoff@toot.cafe Speaking as an individual TAG member, we should be laughing at the notion that a developer could be seen as agreeing to a ToS by writing a line of JavaScript. It's like if I put in my profile that "if you write a post I wind up seeing, you owe me $10". Big companies that believe absurd things can still use the legal system to cause problems, but we shouldn't lose track of the fact that it's absurd.

Open ##2246216