It’s part of /e/os. Basically it attempts to roll the functions of FDroid and Aurora store into one. I dont think it’s made for distribution outside their OS. For anyone on other platforms, Fdroid and Aurora will fill the same roles just fine.

Not really. Their CEO has said that privacy and keeping data away from big tech is their priority and security, while important, is not the tip of the spear for them.

He phrased it poorly (“we’re not developing a phone so a paedophile can evade justice”) but people immediately misrepresented it as “The only people who care about security are paedos and crims”. Graphene went hard on them with a big FUD campaign that got a lot of people upset. All he meant was that people with very extreme threat models would be better looking elsewhere.

Very much a storm in a teacup.

This is so correct. Australia tried the ban and it’s done absolutely nothing. Put the restrictions on the ones causing the harm.