Do not add Google Play Integrity integration

[TheLastProject]

In the README, the following is listed:

App and device verification based on Google Play Integrity API and Apple App Attestation

I would like to strongly urge to abandon this plan. Requiring a dependency on American tech giants for age verification further deepens the EU's dependency on America and the USA's control over the internet. Especially in the current political climate I hope I do not have to explain how undesirable and dangerous that is.

[TheLastProject]

Furthermore I am surprised this is considered an important next step, given apps like the Dutch identity app Yivi (who has no such dependency) already exist and can be used for age verification by the government just fine (on the few select platforms that work with it). Yivi is even available on Open Source app stores like F-Droid.

I think Yivi's existence should be sufficient proof that Google Play Integrity integration is unnecessary.

Yivi (formerly IRMA) homepage: https://yivi.app/en/

[thgoebel]

This this seems to be a fork of the EUDI wallet, see also:

• Please remove the requirement for Google Play Integrity eudi-app-android-wallet-ui#287
• use the standard Android hardware attestation API to verify the device, OS and app instead enforcing licensing Google Mobile Services eudi-app-android-wallet-ui#390

[duncan-bayne]

In addition, tying age verification to specific operating systems and their vendors (large American tech companies) violates two of the three principles listed elsewhere in this org:

• made available to anyone who wants to use it
• controlled by users

[duncan-bayne]

Furthermore, from https://ageverification.dev/Technical%20Specification/architecture-and-technical-specifications/#24-design-principles -

• Interoperability: The solution ensures seamless integration across diverse device operating systems, wallet applications, and online services.

Tying age verification to specific operating systems will directly violate this design principle.

[k0nstruct]

Digital sovereignty is a necessary step to reduce the risks of data processing. There should be no dependencies for external services from third parties at all since each one adds a whole ecosystem of potential security issues.

[orazioedoardo]

This is insane, what's the threat model? Someone remotely exploiting a device to steal proof of age of majority just to watch p__n (most common use case)? Is it even realistic? Why does this service need an app at all? Just create a modern web app, maybe even leveraging Digital Credentials API. I'm tired of app-for-everything.

[BoGnY]

This happens because those who draft the technical specifications don't know how the technologies they propose work.

As I've explained elsewhere, this is ridiculous. Here's a brief excerpt from one of my posts elsewhere:

It's incredible that the European Commission sanctions Google for abuse of dominant position and asks to open the operating system to other stores to allow "free" competition and you [the writer of technical specifications] impose the use of tools that exclude the free choice of the user and give to Google all the power of choice, that's really INCREDIBLE...

There are dozens of ways to secure these apps' certificates without using proprietary systems.
Not to mention that Play Integrity systems are 100% illegal.

[orazioedoardo]

There are dozens of ways to secure these apps' certificates without using proprietary systems.

Does it need to protect those certificates at all? Maybe I'm too naive, but couldn't this simply be implemented by verifying random challenge signed by a national identity provider?

1. User goes to p__n website
2. Website detects user is visiting from Europe
3. Website downloads them a file containing a random string
4. Website tells them to visit verifyage.gov.example
5. User logs via identity provider and uploads the file
6. Challenge is signed and downloaded through the browser
7. User goes back to the p__n website and uploads the file
8. Website verifies the challenge is signed by a trusted entity

Avoids having to protect the signed challenge at all since it's single use, scheme is similar to authenticating with SSH or WebAuthn. I haven't checked the architecture thorough, perhaps does something similar in the end with more bloat in between.

[andrew-ld]

Please listen the ongoing issues with the Italian Wallet related to Play Integrity:

mega thread:
pagopa/io-app#6327

Duplicates:
pagopa/io-app#7014
pagopa/io-app#7199
pagopa/io-app#6942
pagopa/io-app#6820
pagopa/io-app#6763
https://github.com/pagopa/io-app/issues/6507
pagopa/io-app#6524

[cucumberslumber]

Fuck Google

[BillCipher-exe]

A mandatory Google account is unacceptable in a OSS Project

[DannyBoeh]

Getting access to a website as a EU citizen by accepting the TOS of EU-penalized American megacorp is peak 1984.

[ksthiele]

Besides the privacy issues, this feels like South Korea's IE6 problem back in the days, everything was so tied and dependent on it, that they couldn't get rid of it. But I guess we are just humans repeating mistakes, getting influenced by lobbyists, uninformed people, people who can't imagine how things will look like in 10 or more years

[petervanstark]

This would be massive hinderance to all South EU states, where adoption of non google phones is large.

This would be also massive dependency on google.

Furthermore, why on earth are you building digital ids but then not doing IDPs, then forcing users to use some extra app for agecheck... they and their OS maintains...

It is bad UX, it causes issues, not sure if adds any security.