Episode 53 - Locked Out: How Governments and Google Are Closing the Open Internet

Show Notes - https://forum.closednetwork.io/t/episode-53-locked-out-how-governments-and-google-are-closing-the-open-internet/178 Website / Donations / Support - https://closednetwork.io BTC Lightning Donations - closednetwork@getalby.com / simon@primal.net Thank You Patreons! - https://www.patreon.com/closednetwork Michael Bates - Privacy Bad Ass David - Privacy Bad Ass TK - Privacy Bad Ass David - Privacy Bad Ass VO - Privacy Bad Ass MrMilkMustache - Privacy Supporter Hutch - Privacy Advocate TOP LIGHTNING BOOSTERS !!!! 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Main - https://matrix.to/#/#closedntwrk:matrix.org Off Topic - https://matrix.to/#/#closednetworkofftopic:matrix.org SimpleX Group Chat - https://smp9.simplex.im/g#SRBJK7JhuMWa1jgxfmnOfHz7Bl5KjnKUFL5zy-Jn-j0 Join Our Mastodon server! https://closednetwork.social Follow Simon On The Socials Mastodon - https://closednetwork.social/@simon NOSTR - Public Address - npub186l3994gark0fhknh9zp27q38wv3uy042appcpx93cack5q2n03qte2lu2 - primal.net/simon Twitter / X - @ClosedNtwrk Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/closednetworkpodcast/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@closednetwork Email - simon@closednetwork.io Show Notes In 2026, two massive shifts are quietly closing the open internet — one driven by governments, one by Google. The first: California, Louisiana, Illinois, Texas, Utah, and countries across the world are passing laws requiring operating systems to collect your age at device setup and broadcast it to every app you install. The second: Google is requiring every Android app developer — even those who never touch the Play Store — to submit government ID, pay a fee, and register with Google, or have their apps blocked from 95% of Android devices worldwide by 2027. Both policies hit the privacy community hardest: the apps most threatened are the open-source tools, anonymous utilities, and F-Droid staples that privacy-conscious users depend on. In this episode, we break down both stories in plain language, connect the dots between them, and walk through practical steps every listener can take — from DeGoogled phones to VPNs to backing up your APKs before the window closes. If you care about who controls your device, this episode is essential listening. Timestamps 0:00 — Cold Open: Two Stories, One Threat 5:00 — Part 1: OS-Level Age Verification — What It Is 10:00 — The US Laws (California, Louisiana, Illinois, Texas, Utah, Colorado) 18:00 — The International Wave (Australia, UK, EU, and beyond) 23:00 — Why This Matters for Everyone's Privacy 28:00 — Part 2: Google Closes Android 33:00 — What Developer Verification Actually Requires 38:00 — Who Gets Hurt (F-Droid, anonymous devs, privacy tools) 46:00 — Who Is Fighting Back 52:00 — Connecting the Dots: The Same Story, Two Actors 62:00 — What You Can Do Right Now 75:00 — Wrap-Up & Takeaways Key Laws & Legislation Referenced California AB 1043 (Digital Age Assurance Act) — Effective January 1, 2027 Louisiana HB 570 — Effective July 1, 2026 Illinois SB 3977 — Effective January 1, 2027 Texas SB 2420 — Mobile-focused age verification Utah SB 142 — Partially in force, additional provisions through December 2026 Colorado SB26-051 — Proposed; effective date January 1, 2028 UK Online Safety Act 2023 — In force July 25, 2025 Australia Online Safety Act — Social media ban December 2025; search engines June 2026 Google Developer Verification Policy — Enforcement begins September 2026; global 2027 Organizations & Movements Referenced Keep Android Open ( keepandroidopen.org ) — Campaign opposing Google's developer verification F-Droid ( f-droid.org ) — Open-source Android app repository; signed the open letter Electronic Frontier Foundation ( eff.org ) — Digital rights advocacy; fighting both issues Free Software Foundation ( fsf.org ) — Open-source advocacy; signed the open letter Tor Project ( torproject.org ) — Anonymity network; signed the open letter Proton AG ( proton.me ) — Privacy-focused email and VPN; signed the open letter Nextcloud, Fastmail, Vivaldi, Article 19 — Also among the 37+ open letter signatories Tools & Platforms Mentioned GrapheneOS ( grapheneos.org ) — Most privacy-hardened Android alternative; AOSP-based; exempt from both policies discussed CalyxOS ( calyxos.org ) — Privacy-focused Android alternative; AOSP-based; exempt LineageOS ( lineageos.org ) — Broad device compatibility; AOSP-based; exempt /e/OS ( e.foundation ) — DeGoogled Android; AOSP-based; exempt F-Droid ( f-droid.org ) — Open-source app repository; source-code audited apps Signal ( signal.org ) — End-to-end encrypted messaging Orbot — Tor for Android; available on F-Droid Proton Mail / Tutanota — End-to-end encrypted email APK Extractor — Tool for backing up installed app files