diff --git a/lib/binding_web/binding.js b/lib/binding_web/binding.js
index b060715f..e22d5b5b 100644
--- a/lib/binding_web/binding.js
+++ b/lib/binding_web/binding.js
@@ -878,8 +878,14 @@ class Language {
           }));
     }
 
+    // emscripten-core/emscripten#12969
+    const loadModule =
+      typeof loadSideModule === 'function'
+      ? loadSideModule
+      : loadWebAssemblyModule;
+
     return bytes
-      .then(bytes => loadSideModule(bytes, {loadAsync: true}))
+      .then(bytes => loadModule(bytes, {loadAsync: true}))
       .then(mod => {
         const symbolNames = Object.keys(mod)
         const functionName = symbolNames.find(key =>