According to the EFF ...
Google’s new program, set to launch worldwide next year, [is] 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.
This follows Apple and Google removing the the ICEBlock app from their app stores, due to pressure being placed on Apple by the US government (with Google voluntarily removing it).
The EFF's article goes on to state the following:
Google claims the new program “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. Why, one wonders, does Google need to see your driver’s license to evaluate whether your app is safe? Why, one also wonders, does Google want to create a database of virtually every Android app developer in the world?
...
The point here is not that all the apps are necessarily perfect or even safe. The point is that when you set up a gate, you invite authorities to use it to block things they don’t like. And when you build a database, you invite governments (and private parties) to try to get access to that database. If you build it, they will come.
Given that I'm paranoid about privacy and security (and may get into app development at some point in the not-too-distant future), I find this news disturbing. There's no need for developers to provide their government-issued IDs just to have an app registered on an app store, be it Google's, Apple's or some other company's. It's clearly over-reach on the part of a monopolistic company.
