The Right To Run

It's possible some projects, like F-Droid itself, or universities, or public funds become signatories to Google, and then become the "legal contact point" entities for apps that then meet the requirements put forth. Individual developers only need to publish to (and possibly host on) F-Droid, and F-Droid then distributes the app.

Anyway, that's just a technical thing and I suppose we'll figure something out there.

The core of the "registration decree" is in the "The Right To Run" part of the article:

> If you own a computer, you should have the right to run whatever programs you want on it. This is just as true with the apps on your Android/iPhone mobile device as it is with the applications on your Linux/Mac/Windows desktop or server. Forcing software creators into a centralized registration scheme in order to publish and distribute their works is as egregious as forcing writers and artists to register with a central authority in order to be able to distribute their creative works. It is an offense to the core principles of free speech and thought that are central to the workings of democratic societies around the world.
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> By tying application identifiers to personal ID checks and fees, Google is building a choke point that restricts competition and limits user freedom. It must find a solution which preserves user rights, freedom of choice, and a healthy, competitive ecosystem.

It's far more lucrative to not only control the OS, but also the entire ecosystem on that OS. Apple vigorously does that today; Windows is heading in that direction; Android wants to go in that direction, and in an unfortunate way, "snap" seems to be something along those lines as well. I'm glad this is happening - and the light is being shone on this problem. Only good things will come out of the discourse for free software, and for user rights and freedom.