JavaScript: Difference between revisions
m not sure if this article subject directly affects consumer rights, but rather the companies that use it (ex: Google) |
→Consumer impact summary: + Degreaded compatibility |
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*'''Degraded accessibility''': Dynamic and/or active content is well-known to have poor accessibility for users with visual and/or cognitive impairments. While standards such as [[wikipedia:WAI-ARIA|WAI-ARIA]] were created to mitigate this, it's no silver bullet, especially when developers aren't aware of ARIA. | *'''Degraded accessibility''': Dynamic and/or active content is well-known to have poor accessibility for users with visual and/or cognitive impairments. While standards such as [[wikipedia:WAI-ARIA|WAI-ARIA]] were created to mitigate this, it's no silver bullet, especially when developers aren't aware of ARIA. | ||
*'''Degreaded compatibility''': While HTML and CSS degrade gracefully, meaning web browsers not supporting a certain feature will simply ignore it and load the rest of the page, JavaScript does not. If any JavaScript feature is not supported by a web browser and not caught using a <code>try</code>...<code>catch</code> block, the rest of the script is not executed, which usually breaks the entire site if it requires JavaScript for basic functions, as "web apps" usually do. This makes it impossible for legacy systems to access a website at all, rather than being able to use some parts of a website.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jakearchibald.com/2013/progressive-enhancement-still-important/ |title=Progressive enhancement is still important - JakeArchibald.com |date=2013-07-03 |access-date=2026-04-18 }}</ref> | |||
*'''Lack of transparency''': To optimize network bandwidth, JS code is typically served in [[wikipedia:Minification_(programming)|minified]] form, which makes it harder to understand for humans. This is particularly problematic if the original source is not publicly [[wikipedia:Source-available_software|available]], which is typically the case of [[wikipedia:Proprietary_software|proprietary software]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gross |first=Carson |date=21 Sep 2023 |title=The #ViewSource Affordance |url=https://htmx.org/essays/right-click-view-source/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260228105626/https://htmx.org/essays/right-click-view-source/ |archive-date=28 Feb 2026 |access-date=24 Mar 2026 |website=</> htmx ~ Essays}}</ref> | *'''Lack of transparency''': To optimize network bandwidth, JS code is typically served in [[wikipedia:Minification_(programming)|minified]] form, which makes it harder to understand for humans. This is particularly problematic if the original source is not publicly [[wikipedia:Source-available_software|available]], which is typically the case of [[wikipedia:Proprietary_software|proprietary software]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gross |first=Carson |date=21 Sep 2023 |title=The #ViewSource Affordance |url=https://htmx.org/essays/right-click-view-source/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260228105626/https://htmx.org/essays/right-click-view-source/ |archive-date=28 Feb 2026 |access-date=24 Mar 2026 |website=</> htmx ~ Essays}}</ref> | ||
*'''Excessive tracking''': JS is much more capable than HTML and [[CSS]]<!-- See "CSS Exfil": https://www.mike-gualtieri.com/posts/stealing-data-with-css-attack-and-defense/ --> '''combined''' to track user behavior.<ref>https://clickclickclick.click/</ref> JS can communicate with almost any server (only limited by [[wikipedia:Cross-origin_resource_sharing|CORS]]) at any time (limited by connection availability), using a plethora of protocols. JS can get hardware information and compute a [[Device fingerprint|fingerprint of the device]], user, or both.<ref>https://privacycheck.sec.lrz.de/</ref><ref>https://abrahamjuliot.github.io/creepjs</ref><ref>https://www.deviceinfo.me/</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Learn how identifiable you are on the Internet |url=https://www.amiunique.org/ |url-status=live |access-date=19 Mar 2026 |website=Am I Unique ?}}</ref> | *'''Excessive tracking''': JS is much more capable than HTML and [[CSS]]<!-- See "CSS Exfil": https://www.mike-gualtieri.com/posts/stealing-data-with-css-attack-and-defense/ --> '''combined''' to track user behavior.<ref>https://clickclickclick.click/</ref> JS can communicate with almost any server (only limited by [[wikipedia:Cross-origin_resource_sharing|CORS]]) at any time (limited by connection availability), using a plethora of protocols. JS can get hardware information and compute a [[Device fingerprint|fingerprint of the device]], user, or both.<ref>https://privacycheck.sec.lrz.de/</ref><ref>https://abrahamjuliot.github.io/creepjs</ref><ref>https://www.deviceinfo.me/</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Learn how identifiable you are on the Internet |url=https://www.amiunique.org/ |url-status=live |access-date=19 Mar 2026 |website=Am I Unique ?}}</ref> | ||