I think the malware designation is appropriate, though I support their cause. Malware detection should not be put in the position of deciding if a protest is ri

I think the malware designation is appropriate, though I support their cause. Malware detection should not be put in the position of deciding if a protest is righteous. If the change degrades the behavior of the package in a way that isn't relevent to its purpose, it is malware, regardless of who the malice targets. There may be a case for distributing malware to enemies, as speed bumps if not as weapons. But if we do that with the current distribution methods it will tend to remove whatever trust we have left in those systems. Which while unfortunate, is probably necessary. But removing the need for that trust will also remove it as a practical means of malware distribution, for good and ill. I'll go out on a limb and claim removing malware will be a net good.