He's not right at all. It is not "part of the problem" to use a term that a poster here doesn't think accurately captures the issue. The only part of the problem is the corporations who are trying to take our rights away.
Also, I think you'll be quite disappointed in what the general public does or does not care about. The iPhone has always been even more locked down than Android and it sells like hotcakes. Even on Android only a tiny minority of users make use of the option to install third-party apps. I think the general public should care about this topic, but all evidence is to the contrary.