Comment by andrewaylett
18 hours ago
Given the Epic settlement means Google is allowing alternate app stores, and also the delay only applies for unregistered developers, I'm not certain it won't actually get easier to get folk set up on F-Droid.
It still remains to be seen what the actual requirements are, and even if F-Droid could become "approved" that doesn't mean they want to. Time will tell.
"only applies for unregistered developers" but remember the whole point is to allow Google to pull your "registered developer" status on a whim. Something they've shown over and over again they cannot be trusted with
But if there's a court order saying Epic and F-Droid have to be registered developers, they can go to jail for doing that.
Why the hell should we "mother may I" with Google for running apps on our own phones if it isn't sourced from the Play Store?
The "security" rationale is horseshit given just how much malware is readily download able on the Play Store. Google never cleans its own house before going after others.
Don't you know? If one elderly person gets scammed we all deserve to be infantilized.
Wouldn't it be something if, given all the surveillance already in place, law enforcement punished the scammers instead of the innocent?
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(nevermind that the scams are extraordinarily likely to come through Meta, Google, Apple, Amazon)
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Ha if we follow that to it's logical conclusion we should ban smartphones.
Ok, but the vast majority of people do need their hand held because they're incompetent, naive, or both. IMO this is pro consumer move
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It's not just the US, story through the grapevine is that Google is under a lot of pressure Asian governments over "online scams".
(Allegedly the main actor behind this push is Singapore)
Poor, poor Google
It's not about malware. It's about Google complying with USA's geopolitical adventures.
Basically, Google needs an answer when men in suits ask them why they have technology that enables users to install sanctioned Iranian banking apps.
Somehow if you replace Google with Apple in the same sentence you'll get cursed to hell. Go figure.
Says who? The fanbois? What makes you think that ordinary people are any happier with Apple's abuses than Google's? This is not a worthwhile justification for what either one of them does.