[atm3ga]

As AI companies like Perplexity introduce AI enabled browsers like Comet, they will scrape web sites through the interaction of end-users with whatever site they are using. Therefore, indeed anti-bot companies are absolutely running out of runway.

[thelittleone]

Wow hadn't even considered this... so say I have a members only section of my site where I share high value content, one of the members browses using Comet, and that scrapes the private content and sends to perplexity?

[kanemcgrath]

Not sure if its still an issue, but companies were buying popular web extensions, then auto updating malware/spyware into them. I haven't heard much about this in a while, but I think chrome still forces auto updates for extensions, so I would expect this to be the biggest vector for scraping walled data now.

[datadrivenangel]

Any user could manually download your data anyways. Access is access.

[tempodox]

And a browser can do it automated and behind user’s back.

[lupire]

This also happens with covert botnets running secretly on user machines.

[Incipient]

Surely that's highly illegal, and no one would actually use a browser that sent your entire browsing DATA not just history, to a third party?

[zbentley]

I would hope so as well, but doubt it: if the user consents to their communications being MITM’d by the browser, basically, then I’m not sure there’s currently a legal basis for forbidding that behavior. Many sites/applications accessed by the browsing user may have terms that forbid that kind of data sharing though.

[cwmoore]

Gross. Terminate TOSs. We all need legal agents: perhaps they would (technically) time-travel back to when these kinds of intrusions began and retroactively disaggregate the prolonged and massive data theft from human beings' individual choicemaking efforts.

[ec109685]

The way comet browses the web is weird enough that it’s easily detectable.

[atm3ga]

Does detectability matter? Are we now entering an era of forced browser compliance? That is, if I use Comet exclusively as my browser; is my bank, insurance company, or news site going to force me to stop and use a "normal" browser and what will that look like as every browser also has AI capabilities? Maybe certain resources will only be available via apps? Seems like a very slippery slope and very user hostile.

[orbisvicis]

I really don't want AI to be able to produce my bank account balance and routing number on demand.

[Aerroon]

Great, but it won't stop there. You will use Chrome or else.

Well, with one alternative: Edge.