Comment by hoppp
1 month ago
Eu has the Digital Markets Act and what google is doing is illegal in Eu. Gatekeepers must allow people to side-load software by regulation.
Makes me think that google did this now since trump has been criticizing the DMA, so now they feel empowered by their leader to break the law
Google does still let you sideload though. The publisher has to submit ID but other than that, there are no restrictions.
Google has to approve the publisher (so Google can ban any developer, also no more apps from countries the US sanctions, e.g. Iran or Venezuela) and only one person can publish the same namespace (so no more fdroid).
Apple also permits people who follow an application process to sideload software. That's still illegal. I'm not sure what the details are of this EU law, but it's entirely possible that Google will be noncompliant here.
Side loading is absolutely not equal open bootloader!