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uBlock Origin GPL code being stolen by team behind Honey browser extension

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Re: uBlock Origin GPL code being stolen by team behind Honey browser extension

#51

Post by Drakim »

tzs wrote: post #7
slowmovintarget wrote: post #2

If any software ever deserved being sued into non-existence it is the Honey browser extension, and any other scam software they turn out (Pie Adblock in this case). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc4yL3YTwWk

I've seen a few ads from them on YouTube promoting their ad blocker, specifically touting that it gets around YouTube's efforts to block ad blockers. I thought it was interesting that YouTube, in the midst of trying to crack down on ad blockers, allows ads promoting an ad blocker that is specifically claiming to evade that crackdown.

I wonder if there could be anti-trust aspects to cracking down on such ads.

Re: uBlock Origin GPL code being stolen by team behind Honey browser extension

#52

Post by onli »

moonshadow565 wrote: post #46

I don't think you can copyright lists of publicly available information (iirc there was some case with phone numbers before). That being said, they also stole code...

Right, or: maybe. Depends on where you are (or maybe better: where they are), and whether data collections fall under copyright or some other protection that is translateable enough for the gpl to apply. But if they really also used code that point is moot.

Re: uBlock Origin GPL code being stolen by team behind Honey browser extension

#53

Post by betweenbroth »

yoyohello13 wrote: post #20
max_ wrote: post #9

Why can't people just run businesses decently without deception & scams? I'm sure they can be profitable. This deceptive behaviour actually makes the business loose customers in the long term.

My general belief is that you can be a millionaire by acting ethically, but you can’t be a billionaire. Lots of people motivated by money want to be billionaires.

I know one billionaire. He's third generation to run a investment / hedge fund firm that is super secretive. Can barely find him on google, just a few articles about his dad and granddad. They quietly played the financial system for 7 decades and the fourth son will soon take over, but all he seems to do is travel because their employees do all the work. I've learned there are hundreds of billionaires that play this quiet financial-machine game and do everything in their power to remain anonymous. To the first order they are "ethical" because they follow the law, but when you can write the laws that define the financial system by funding congresspeople to insert obscure legislation that no one but financial experts can comprehend, it is very hard to explain exactly what is unethical in a way that your typical Cletus-like voter can understand (hell, I have no effing clue so I should go easy on Cletus).

You're right though, centimillionaires feel entitled to become billionaires, and billionaires feel entitled to become centibillionaires. However, I have noticed that the decimillionaires I know are aware that they still aren't in the right lane to even think that way and are largely content.

(wow, you're getting downvoted, the little boys on the site sure are a jealous bunch.)

Re: uBlock Origin GPL code being stolen by team behind Honey browser extension

#54

Post by cjbgkagh »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #40
cjbgkagh wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do crowdsource discount codes from other users which is how you get internal discount codes used for testers leaked to other users. I think this is a facilitation of theft, though the theft is hidden to the user so the user does not possess criminal intent while using the code. I’m not sure how illegal it is but it is clearly wildly unethical.

There is no theft as long as the “testers” or whoever are voluntarily installing Honey. The T&C of installing Honey surely includes the right for Honey to see and share the discount codes.

It should be incumbent on Honey to check if these discounts are indeed public. 100% discounts would be an obvious place to start. Given that Honey claims to search the public internet for discounts according to their claims they can in fact do this.

At the scale and resources of Honey the claim of ignorance becomes unreasonable. It would help their case if they had a made a documented good faith attempt, but I think due to the obvious nefarious nature they would have avoided collecting such data because they wanted to continue the practice.

But as mentioned, I’m not sure how illegal it is despite the TOS but it’s clearly wildly unethical.

Re: uBlock Origin GPL code being stolen by team behind Honey browser extension

#55

Post by LeifCarrotson »

cjbgkagh wrote: post #43
jszymborski wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly it. When things are horrible around us, there is a strong temptation to throw ones hands up in apathy and let the rot fester. "Eh, Honey is probably selling my data but I got $5 off my new mattress, so wtv". We need to resist that call to apathy, stop acquiescing, and start demanding better of others. That, incidentally, often starts at demanding better of ourselves.

I disagree that it’s down to the individuals. While individuals can throw themselves into the gears of the machine it is understandable why they do not. I see things in terms of a sharecropping analogy, feudal lords (corrupted government) allow the scammers to harvest the crop (victims) for a share of the proceeds. We cannot fix people to the point they are un-scammable and there does not exist a democratic force str…

Absolutely! I think this was kind of what OP was driving at with the suggestion to "start demanding better of others." It doesn't work to expect they should do better from their own motivation, we need to fix the broken incentives and consequences that result in those bad decisions being attractive.

Re: uBlock Origin GPL code being stolen by team behind Honey browser extension

#58

Post by teamspirit »

cjbgkagh wrote: post #43
jszymborski wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly it. When things are horrible around us, there is a strong temptation to throw ones hands up in apathy and let the rot fester. "Eh, Honey is probably selling my data but I got $5 off my new mattress, so wtv". We need to resist that call to apathy, stop acquiescing, and start demanding better of others. That, incidentally, often starts at demanding better of ourselves.

I disagree that it’s down to the individuals. While individuals can throw themselves into the gears of the machine it is understandable why they do not. I see things in terms of a sharecropping analogy, feudal lords (corrupted government) allow the scammers to harvest the crop (victims) for a share of the proceeds. We cannot fix people to the point they are un-scammable and there does not exist a democratic force str…

> I wish we had a democracy that could prevent this but we do not

Doesn't this rely on us as the individual? We get the government we allow. We, humanity, could've had anything we wanted, this is what we gave ourselves.

Re: uBlock Origin GPL code being stolen by team behind Honey browser extension

#59

Post by gkoberger »

gonesilent wrote: post #19

paypal paid 2 billion for honey did all the devs leave?

Looks like they sold in 2020 for $4Bn, and both founders left two years later in March 2022. One founder started Pie, which basically seems like Honey with a slightly different angle. The other founder became a VC.

Re: uBlock Origin GPL code being stolen by team behind Honey browser extension

#60

Post by lotsofpulp »

cjbgkagh wrote: post #54
lotsofpulp wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no theft as long as the “testers” or whoever are voluntarily installing Honey. The T&C of installing Honey surely includes the right for Honey to see and share the discount codes.

It should be incumbent on Honey to check if these discounts are indeed public. 100% discounts would be an obvious place to start. Given that Honey claims to search the public internet for discounts according to their claims they can in fact do this. At the scale and resources of Honey the claim of ignorance becomes unreasonable. It would help their case if they had a made a documented good faith attempt, but I think…

Why would it be incumbent on Honey, or illegal at all? It is a voluntary transaction by two businesses.

If the business does not want their codes given out, then they should not agree to Honey’s T&C.

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