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Break the law? The app mentioned isn't unlawful. Many map apps track speeding camera locations. Asking for badge numbers from a police officer is also normal.

And why is a phone different from a computer? Nobody bats an eye when downloading program on computer, or visiting a website with arbitrary code.

The example was recent and very clearly put the developer at personal risk. But there are many gray-zones.

An app to decode car diagnostics codes isn't unlawful, but being personally identified could get you in alot of trouble by car companies anyway.

And what about making an independent news app in Russia? More clearly ok by our morals and law, but very dangerous for the developer.

History has shown time and time again that it is dangerous to centralize power into the hands of few. A lot of mechanisms have been invented and subsequently dismantled again in attempts to protect us from this. Fascism is real.

I don't think anyone is arguing that they want app developers to break the law, but rather that Google must not take away the device owner's choice to install any app he so chooses. But even to the extent that does involve lawbreaking... yes, that's the price you have to pay for freedom. You cannot give people freedom without some people misusing it to do bad things, but that does not mean freedom should therefore be abrogated. In the extreme, you could have a very safe society without any crimes if you locked every citizen inside a small cell that they couldn't leave. But nobody, not even the most ardent tough on crime advocates, would contend that such a trade would be worth it. We all agree that some amount of criminal activity must be tolerated for the sake of living freely, then... the only question is where each person thinks that line should be drawn.

How about it's my phone.

It's also really stupid to drive a car in a flood, but we don't have cars check the weather forecast before starting up( maybe I shouldn't post this, might give someone some ideas).

ICEBlock isn't illegal.

It is if the laws are fascist. Which is currently the case, and is the example given in the article.

"If you outlaw freedom, only outlaws will have freedom."

I don't see why Google would be considered a trusted party to judge that in the first place. Regardless of what they think about this app.

> so that they can make apps to help break the law

That's for a judge to decide, not for a supranational mega corporation.

> For the sample app scenario you may be able to still install via adb.

Keyword: may.

I mean this is also an enormous problem for nations which would like to provide intelligence capability to their agents.

A special carve out for anonymous apps only for people with government connections doesn't help because it fingerprints the operative.

Tor was originally a deniable communications tool.