Google plans to exempt sanctioned nations from Android developer verification

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谷歌安卓的开发者验证系统下个月就要上线了，但有个尴尬的问题一直没解决：住在受制裁国家的开发者怎么办？美国制裁名单上的伊朗、古巴、朝鲜等地，谷歌既不能跟他们做生意，又没给出替代方案，等于把这些人晾在一边。简单说，这套新系统要求所有安卓开发者先提交身份证件并交一笔小费用，才能继续发布应用——哪怕不是上架Play商店，直接给用户安装包也不行。今后任何搭载谷歌服务的安卓手机，都装不了未验证开发者做的应用。对普通用户来说，最直观的变化就是以后装第三方应用会更安全，因为每个开发者都被实名认证了。但代价是，那些身处制裁国家的开发者可能彻底失去发布软件的渠道，用户也没法用他们做的应用。而且美国制裁名单随时可能变动，谷歌这个模糊的态度，让不少开发者心里没底。

We are a month away from the initial rollout of Google's Android developer verification system, and the company contends this policy does not impinge on the platform's open nature. Still, the restrictions will be a big change, and there are still some unanswered questions. An issue that has come up repeatedly in the run-up to verification is what will happen to devs who can't verify because of where they live. It turns out that Google has a cryptic answer for that buried in an FAQ. Developer verification will soon block the installation of apps from unverified developers on any Android device running Google services, which is functionally all Android phones outside Russia and China. Developers who want to keep releasing software, even if it's not in the Play Store, have to provide Google with their ID and pay a small fee. But what if you're an Android developer living in a sanctioned nation? Currently, the US sanction list includes Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and occupied areas of Ukraine. Given the current uncertain state of US foreign policy, that list could change in the future. Google doing any business with developers in those places is a thorny issue, and it seems like the company has decided to just leave them hanging.Read full article Comments