Universal bootloader locking should be illegal. At this point i’d be happy to just be able to buy a more expensive “ownership edition” of my phone

Unfortunately seems to be an oversight in the implementation of new software locks and their requirements, and is fully patchable. Xiaomi has seemingly already released patches in China as per the article, so this is moderately disappointing for anyone who wants a cutting edge, bootloader-unlocked device.

How soon before this is patched globally?

Bootloader locks should be illegal

dope

Considering this security bug is gonna be patched soon there really isn't much you can do with it, I mean in theory you could use a GSI but tbh at that point just get a phone that supports bootloader unlocking. For the sake of security please don't rely on exploits for the device you store sensitive data on.

Can someone explain this to me like I'm an art major and didn't get into tech?

Awesome, hope they won't fix that. All restrictions should be removed from our own phones.