[gjsman-1000]

Yes. Why do you think Google is requiring identity verification on Android now?

It couldn't possibly be because developers in general have proved themselves untrustworthy as well... right?

It couldn't possibly be because users have proven education and countless warnings are ineffective... right?

Common sense outside of our HN bubble says that if merely serving me food is regulated, if merely giving me a haircut requires registration and licensing, why is building apps that can steal my data, my money, and my reputation... not regulated? Surely, it's easier for most people to discern the quality of their food, or the quality of a barber, than an app! Yet even for food, and freaking haircuts, we societally don't trust people to understand warnings and use common sense. Either fix tech (even with laws that make HN furious)... or say those laws regarding haircuts are stupid too.

[ndriscoll]

The laws regarding haircuts are stupid, but nothing actually stops you from going to an unlicensed barber. Likewise no one is going to stop the teenager next door from unlicensed babysitting, and no one is going to stop you from going to them (or to an adult that runs an unlicensed daycare in their home and goes over legal child:adult ratios).

One difference here is the tool that you own is built to undermine your authority and instead do whatever Google says. It'd be like if scissors required biometric validation with Great Clips to open "to protect people from unlicensed haircutters".

[gjsman-1000]

> but nothing actually stops you from going to an unlicensed barber

In my home state, unlicensed barbering is up to $2,000 per incident. So sure, nothing is stopping you. Just as even now, nothing is stopping you from installing a custom ROM and running your own code, even if you might not be able to run other people's code.

> One difference here is the tool that you own is built to undermine your authority and instead do whatever Google says. It'd be like if scissors required biometric validation with Great Clips to open "to protect people from unlicensed haircutters".

This is also a thing in the real world; it's licensing to be able to purchase key fob reprogrammers. It's a real pain, even if the tools (illegally) end up on eBay. That's because the risk of a potentially stolen car is seen as extremely high... but an app's potential makes that look quaint.

[ndriscoll]

Most mobile devices do stop you from installing a custom ROM and running your own code (or code from someone else). That kind of thing is what should be illegal. Likewise with e.g. banks requiring people to submit control of the computer they own to the likes of Google even if the device itself in principle can be put under the owner's control.

Locking down car repair tools is another obviously abusive practice that primarily benefits the manufacturer and harms the owner, justified through some weak appeal to security, yes.