The European Union is preparing to introduce new age verification rules on social media to prevent children and teenagers from easily accessing unauthorized content. As part of this project, the Union also plans to add integrity checks for Android apps to the system, Android Headlines reports.
The EU is working on an age verification app that will also verify whether an Android app is genuine. The plan is to use Google's security system, which only works with officially licensed apps from Google Play.
The EU's actions have raised concerns among users of custom firmware for smartphones, as the Google Play integrity check is mandatory and obliges the user to install applications only from the Google store. This means that no third-party application will pass the check.
The integrity check for Android apps is part of the EU's proposed age verification system, which is still under development, so a final decision has not been made. However, if the plan is implemented, users in Europe will no longer be able to install third-party apps, although the EU promises to keep full control over their personal data.