Comment by diggan 8 months ago
> The problem is that Chrome by itself is worse than worthless, it is a money sink and it only makes sense as a part of a system.
Or, just an out-there idea, what if the Chrome became property of the government instead? Forced to be FOSS, put into maintenance mode and offer it as a truly user-focused browser instead of driven by any for-profit company (which will eventually run it into the ground).
Yep, move it into an independent non-profit foundation and have the government fund its development through taxes as a public good software that benefits everyone. The idea makes sense, which is why it'll never happen.
Especially during the current (2025) iteration of the US government. All sides of the political spectrum will be accusing the program of having political bias against each other.
> All sides of the political spectrum will be accusing the program of having political bias against each other.
That's pretty much the optimal state of the current iteration of democracy, isn't it? I'd feel more scared if everyone agreed to it and there was no complaints, then something is guaranteed to be fucky-wucky for the normal person, but without knowing about it. At least if both sides complain about the other, it's relatively impartial.
> Yep, move it into an independent non-profit foundation and have the government fund its development through taxes as a public good software that benefits everyone. The idea makes sense, which is why it'll never happen.
Or turn it into a tightly regulated natural monopoly, a la a public utility.
But I totally agree with you: some things should just be state-owned. We should put our energies into identifying those things and addressing any legitimate concerns (e.g. spying via requiring open source and reproducible builds) instead of trying to free market all the things.
Chrome is already FOSS, and there is no shortage of forks, including Edge.
The only part that isn't is the brand, and the ties with Google. And I am not a fan of the idea of a (foreign in my case) government browser, I'd rather have Google. At least, Google has a presence in my country and is bound by its laws,
Chrome is not FOSS. Chromium is FOSS. Chrome is a proprietary fork.
Yeah, let’s put Trump in charge of the most popular browser in the world. What could go wrong?
Considering the questionable choices made by the current President of the US let's maybe not do this. Let's not act like this wouldn't be turned into a propaganda machine in minutes