1302547 - Allow users to fake WebPermissions

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Core :: DOM: Core & HTML, enhancement)

Description

[KOLANICH]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:50.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/50.0
Build ID: 20160913004005



Actual results:

Now websites can greenmail user's to allow them to get access to user's private data in order to get the service. This should be fixed on permission's level or we'll get the same situation we have in Android ecosystem when apps make users to barter their privacy for service.


Expected results:

Original discussion is https://github.com/w3c/permissions/issues/54

I suggest to add an additional PermissionState unobservable to webpage - the "faked" state - and activate it when a user denies the permission in GUI.

Power users can also switch to "denied" state to explicitly deny to give an app a permission, which will mean that there will be no need to simulate data. Add this pref to gui using about:config.

 If the permission is faked, the entity requested the permission

    MUST get FAKE information instead of genuine one
    MUST get the FAKE response from WebAPI used as if the permission was really "granted"

FAKE information is the information generated using a model and the following sources of information:
1 API call arguments
2 model parameters, which should be standardized
3 a cryptographically secure PRG
4 model-specific parameters
5 real data, if it is allowed by user

There should be a standardized API allowing third-party developers to plug own models to response on new threats rapidly. In the case multiple models are available a user should be given a choice of model. Models may have settings mapped to GUI to allow users to change some parameters of data available to the website, for example radius of obfuscation of position for geolocation or size of mosaic for camera or the sex of virtual person whose face is synthesized. If model uses real data there should be a GUI switch to allow the model to get it. The default position of the switch should prevent the model from getting it.

Comment 1

[Daniel Veditz [:dveditz]]

Marcos: is this Permissions spec issue likely to go anywhere? Should we close this bug until/unless the spec is updated to request this?

Comment 2

[Marcos Caceres [:marcosc]]

Yeah, let's close this for now. There are some folks from Google and those working on Web Platform Tests trying to come up with a same alternative for this. Once that's a bit more thrashed out, we can come back to this.