Will the new changes to Android 9 cause the VPN based firewall apps become obsolete? Firewall apps use VPN to manage network (to allow or disallow apps to connect to the Internet via Wifi or Mobile Data), mainly is for phones that are not rooted.

However, this article mentions:


  As XDA Developers explains, access to proc/net is going to be tightened up so that only designated VPN apps will be allowed to read TCP and UDP files (and in turn interpret network activity). 


Even though I support that Android should have features to allow or disallow Apps to have Internet access, BUT this wonderful feature may not even applies to Android or Google apps itself. (Such as the data hungry Google Play Store and Google Play Services apps!)

Thus, if only designated VPN apps are allowed, this means that phones which are not rooted will no longer be able to use Firewall apps that use VPN to manage network! This is totally unacceptable!

If Android 9 (Android Pie) do not allow end-user to be able to control the network for the famous and notoriously data hungry Google Play Store and Google Play Services apps (that self update without permission from end-user), then it implies that Google and Android have fail the city by disregarding end-user's concern on network usage!

Therefore, I would like to know if Android 9 will result in such unfair and despicable behaviors.
Have a read of the commit on googlesource here. It states


  Files in /proc/net leak information. This change is the first step in
  determining which files apps may use, whitelisting benign access, and
  otherwise removing access while providing safe alternative APIs.


[....]


  
  Labels /proc/net/{tcp,tcp6,udp,udp6} as proc_net_vpn due to existing
  use by VPN apps. This may be replaced by an alternative API.
  Audits all other proc/net access for apps.