[thenickdude]

This was not Google's decision, it was forced on them by the EU under their Digital Services Act:

https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/17/developers-address-phone-numb...

The same thing was applied to the Apple store at the same time.

[kassner]

This directive only apply if you are trading (aka making money) with the app. Why does Google force-collect all this information when you can opt to not be a trader (no in-app purchases, no ads, etc)?