In 2017, the body responsible for standardizing web browser technologies, W3C, introduced Encrypted Media Extensions (EME)—thus bringing with it the end of competitive indie web browsers.

No longer is it possible to build your own web browser capable of consuming some of the most popular content on the web. Websites like Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and others require copyright content protection which is only accessible through browser vendors who have license agreements with large corporations.

During development of Metastream⁠—a browser-based side project of mine⁠—I ran into a roadblock when Google Widevine rejected my application to use their software that allows playback of encrypted media. The same problems I faced are affecting other developers with no known solutions in-sight.

These roadblocks were primarily introduced to appease the media industry.

All businesses want to make money, and the media distributors, like Netflix, make theirs by selling access to their content. Of course, if you have something worth selling, someone is going to want it for free.

To defend against digital pirates trying to access their content illegally, media distributors resort to using tools referred to as Digital Rights Management (DRM).

DRM in software is usually a blackbox which controls the way you access content and makes it harder to copy and redistribute. It isn’t always 100% effective, given that digital piracy still exists, but it prevents most folks from being able to save the movie they’re watching and share it with a friend.

This may sound reasonable if you agree that those who provide value should be paid for their services, but what often results from DRM are additional problems for consumers and creators alike—which I’ll soon get into.

DRM in web browsers

Primarily, web browsers aim to provide universal access to content on the web. Blog posts 👀, social media, videos, music, photos, etc. This is made possible by the Open Web Platform.

The Open Web Platform is the collection of open (royalty-free) technologies which enables the Web. Using the Open Web Platform, everyone has the right to implement a software component of the Web without requiring any approvals or waiving license fees.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) facilitates the standardization process by which these technologies are added to the web.

So far this has worked out well, and has enabled the universal access to information we have today through browsers like Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and many others. However, starting in 2013, the W3C sought to standardize DRM in web browsers—with support of Google, Microsoft, and Netflix—introducing technology antithetical to the Open Web Platform.

Historically, encrypted media playback was handled in browsers by plugins like Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight. This led to security concerns outside of the control of browser developers. As a means of removing these concerns and enabling more technologies within the open web platform, the W3C published Encrypted Media Extensions (EME).

The W3C backgrounder on EME describes the advantages of the standard:

Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) enables interoperability, better privacy, security, accessibility and user experience in viewing movies on the Web.

EME provides a common browser API that may be u