Application Gatekeeping: An Ever-Expanding Pathway to Internet Censorship

"It's not news that Apple and Google use their app stores to shape what apps you can and cannot have on many of your devices. What is new is more governments-including the U.S. government-using legal and extralegal tools to lean on these gatekeepers in order to assert that same control. And rather than resisting, the gatekeepers are making it easier than ever."

"requiring developers to register with the company in order to have their apps installable on Android certified devices-including paying a fee and providing personal information backed by government-issued identification. Google claims the new program of "is an extra layer of security that deters bad actors and makes it harder for them to spread harm," but the registration requirements are barely tied to app effectiveness or security."

Apple removed the ICEBlock app at least partly in response to threats from the U.S. government, and Google quickly followed. Google will launch a global developer registration requiring developers to register, pay fees, and provide personal information tied to government-issued identification to make apps installable on Android certified devices. Google frames the program as added security, but the registration requirements are minimally connected to app safety and create a central database of nearly every Android developer. Volunteers, researchers, small teams, and developers who avoid government identification may abandon Android, reducing app diversity and depriving users of valuable tools. F-Droid warns the program will be devastating for the community.

Read at Electronic Frontier Foundation