WordPress announced that they plan on treating Google’s new FLoC tracking technology as a security concern and plan to block it by default on WordPress sites, BleepingComputer reported. WordPress has joined the growing list of creators of browsers and search engines that refuse to implement Google’s FLoC in their content.
There is a proposal on WordPress.org titled: ““Treat FloC as a security concern”. The first thing mentioned is the EFF’s post titled: “Google’s FLoC is a terrible idea”, which notes that “placing people in groups based on their browsing habits is likely to facilitate employment, housing and other types of discrimination, as well as predatory targeting of unsophisticated consumers.”
WordPress powers approximately 41% of the web – and this community can help combat racism, sexism, anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, and discrimination against those with mental illness with four lines of code…
The proposal also points out why it is important to take action against Google’s FloC now, instead of waiting for it to be implemented in the next update. “While it is indeed unusual to read a new ‘feature’ this way, there is precedent in that something that was not strictly a security vulnerability in comments was back-ported to previous versions for the good of the community as a whole.”
It notes that the 5.8 update is scheduled for July 2021, while FLoC will likely be rolling out this month.
Personally, I really like that WordPress is interested in protecting its users from Google’s FLoC. I’ve been using WordPress for my personal blog for years. It is really nice to know that WordPress is taking the preemptive steps to ensure that Google cannot inflict FLoC on WordPress sites.