Today, Google released a statement on the Android developers blog explaining that they will now require all developers to verify their info with Google if they make apps, no matter how they choose to distribute them.
The changes will roll out gradually over the next two years, and will apply to every device that is Play certified. Developers who wish to distribute apps under the new system will have to provide their legal name, date of birth, contact info and address.
This creates a lot of very real privacy concerns for hobbyist developers, who will now have to register themselves as a company simply for a tiny amount of the privacy they once had, under a system that once touted itself as free and open.
Notably, Apple introduced similar requirements under the Digital Markets Act for users in the EU, creating many of the same problems and concerns.
This move feels like a disservice to AOSP as a whole, and Google coming full circle on a system they owned from the start - if you want access to their stuff, you have to be happy to play by their rules now, which comes at the cost of modders, indie devs, and students.
These changes also dramatically raise the barrier of entry with distribution. While almost any hobbyist iOS dev can distribute an app however they see fit - either through Apple on the App Store or TestFlight, or they can compile an unsigned app and have technically minded users sign it themselves, which could arguably now be easier than this new system on Android.
I've no doubt workarounds will be found for this - AOSP has simply existed as an open wilderness for too long for this behavior to simply be accepted. However this, along with the new Play Integrity API, set a really horrible precedent for the future of app distribution and development on a platform that once championed itself on being open and free.