UK petition calls for IE6's official execution

by Stevie Smith - Feb 2 2010, 15:46

Arriving in the same week January’s usage numbers revealed that Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is now more popular than its stalwart predecessor Internet Explorer 6 (IE6), a UK petition is calling for the government to officially scrap 2001’s aging IE6 in favour of the platform’s newer iterations.

According to the petition, Internet Explorer 6 is weighed down by security issues and relies on old and outdated technology, which is both a burden for legitimate developers and also a potential boon for the Internet’s more nefariously opportunistic users.

“Most creative and software development companies are forced by government department clients to build websites for IE6 when most of the industry has moved on,” the petition outlines.

Although the petition concedes that carrying out the necessary browser upgrade throughout the government would be “a massive task,” it also offers that the required momentum is possible “if the public is encouraged to lead the way and the government follows.”

A similar and existing call for IE6’s demise has found considerable traction in the United States, where the ‘ie6nomore’ campaign already boasts the support of some 70 online businesses that believe IE6 is stifling Web progress.  

Beyond the convenient timing associated with IE8’s gathering dominance in the cutthroat browser market, it’s more likely the petition has been submitted to the powers that be in light of recently patched IE security flaws that enabled hackers to launch a high-profile attack against Google in China.

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