Respected chairperson,

Google has announced [1] that as of September 2026, it will no longer be possible to develop apps for the Android platform without first registering centrally with Google. We, the users, believe that this gives Google an unwarranted authority over what the we can or cannot install over our devices. It also imposes a barrier for entry into mobile development.

This also means that Google supersedes the state authority over what is trusted and what's not. The government and by extension it's citizens are not longer digitally sovereign. Please look at https://keepandroidopen.org and https://keepandroidopen.org/open-letter/ to see the issues documented in detail and the list of organizations that have undersigned the same.

We hope to see an India that is digitally sovereign [2] and does not require a foreign company dictating what we can or cannot do with our digital devices. 

1. https://developer.android.com/developer-verification

2. https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/government-free-software.html

Future edits are welcome here,
https://pad.disroot.org/p/keep-android-open-cci-outreach

Good start. I think the following article from GNU can also be linked to emphasize the software freedom to the Government https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/government-free-software.html

@Deep Pandya Thank you! I'll add that

Looks good. If you want to get "official" FSCI approval, create a poll so people can vote on it? (Start a Vote → Consensus probably)

Slightly tricky angles to be pushing.

"foreign control" is a problem: "Yes yes, lets have domestic control".

"state authority over what is trusted": "Yes yes, lets have the government approve apps".

We seem to be pursuing social-governmental angles in matters of individual rights, and sometimes vice versa too.

@Life is Tetris I agree that it's not ideal, but I suppose I would rather have a democratically (hopefully?) elected government handle matters of digital sovereignty hold them accountable (hopefully?). But that is not to say domestic control is okay.

I think the socio-governmental angle is the only sure-shot way to prevent Google from legally implementing this in the country. I doubt any form of individual dissent or local movement will gain enough traction for Google to change their minds. We have to take the legal route.

Do you have any other ideas as for how we can go about it?

@Life is Tetris the arguments we are presenting in that email do not necessarily represent the real reasons we dislike Google's imposition.

However, I think they are the ones most likely to convince the government given the philosophy of the people who are in power at the moment. The aim of this email is to convince the CCI to block mandatory data collection and gatekeeping imposed by Google, not to educate people about our philosophy. (Since the target is the CCI and not the elected legislature, I would be open to approaching the problems from other angles too such as highlighting the ways this negatively impact business, if we are able to find convincing arguments for that.)

We could publish a separate statement on our blog outlining our reasons for opposing the change, if someone is interested in taking the initiative for that.