I don’t think it seems like a benign change at all, for those reasons.
Well, for most of them. It IS a concern that every single piece of bootable code on the platform is traceable to a specific person worldwide, for sure. The last one shouldn’t be an issue. If Google disappeared you’d still be able to run unsigned code on Android, since on paper this will only apply to “Android certified” devices. Not being certified may remove Google services and the Play Store, but in your scenario those are gone anyway. And there isn’t a ton of clarity about whether ID certification will be automatic. I presume it will be, but we won’t know until we hear from devs in their early access program.
But apps being persecuted or censored by governments? Sure. That’s a very real issue. And Google and Apple deciding what people can run in their devices single-handedly? That’s entierly unacceptable.
I don’t think it seems like a benign change at all, for those reasons.
Well, for most of them. It IS a concern that every single piece of bootable code on the platform is traceable to a specific person worldwide, for sure. The last one shouldn’t be an issue. If Google disappeared you’d still be able to run unsigned code on Android, since on paper this will only apply to “Android certified” devices. Not being certified may remove Google services and the Play Store, but in your scenario those are gone anyway. And there isn’t a ton of clarity about whether ID certification will be automatic. I presume it will be, but we won’t know until we hear from devs in their early access program.
But apps being persecuted or censored by governments? Sure. That’s a very real issue. And Google and Apple deciding what people can run in their devices single-handedly? That’s entierly unacceptable.