This article goes more into how EAC for Linux is being altered. Basically EAC can run with ring 0 access on windows machines to prevent cheats, but on Linux it doesn’t have the same level of invasive access. This is better for user privacy, but also limits its ability to prevent cheating.
The upcoming EAC Linux v2 will fall into a middle ground between the two, and will require the kernel to be signed with a key Epic recognizes. The system will also have to have TPM 2.0 and secure boot enabled. I recommend reading the article for more details.
I think all the things you are saying are just claims. As far as I understand it, this will be closed source software that runs as root, so basically it’s just trustmebro, the same as on Windows. I’m not a systemd expert, but seems challenging to fulfill the part where it “only runs when the game runs”.
The EBF module can be inspected, and EAC won’t have kernel access, so that limits it significantly. Things like crowdstrike, completely hiding it’s processes, etc shouldn’t be possible without it having kernel access.
The systemd service can easily be confirmed to only run while a game is running as well. You can even restrict the service to be masked except when specific games are running.
EAC having root access is a valid concern though, it will have full access to your entire filesystem. Normally you can restrict what files a systemd service can access, so we may be able to quarantine this to block any privacy concerns. However we’ll have to wait until it comes out to know that part.
Overall it’s not perfect, but users will have much higher ability to audit it on Linux versus the Windows version.