OpenPGP for application developers

It may not be the simplest thing for most users, but if a user can modify the source of the browser, it'll be easy to delete those root certs.

Patching and recompiling a major browser is not for the faint of heart (or those with small(ish) PCs). I think, since the browser makers won't be able refuse the QWAC root CA certificates outright, what we may eventually see are improvements to browser trust store management UIs that will let people deselect root CA certs they don't like in a more convenient manner (including a guarantee that they won't pop up again on the next browser update). Also the fact that browsers generally do their own thing, apart from the OS, when it comes to trust store management is a problem because it is difficult to figure out all the places where you would have to go to remove those certs. It would certainly change the situation in the EU from the current “mostly works OK by default for most people” to “sucks for almost everyone” since only the very dedicated would go to the trouble of adjusting their trust store.

This is apart from the fact that there will probably be subtle (or not-so-subtle) pressure on web sites, certainly the major ones, to use QWAC certificates from the government-approved CAs, in order to make life more difficult for those people who do decide to patch out those root certificates. After all, the whole thing seems to be driven not just by a desire to make it easier for state actors to MITM people's connections, but also to generate money-making opportunities for commercial CAs whose business has mostly been killed by the likes of Let's Encrypt. After all, QWAC certificates from the government-mandated CAs are basically just like EV certificates, which go for €€€ but which nobody uses anymore because free DV certificates from Let's Encrypt are nearly as good and much easier to deal with.