Using the termux (https://termux.com) terminal-emulation program, I type the following command:
ls /sdcard
I get the following error:
ls: can't open '/sdcard': Permission denied
No, my device is not rooted, nor do I plan to root it - so I can not give any information that I'd have to root the device to obtain. However, not being rooted never in the past prevented me from having read access to the /sdcard directory - so this is new (and disturbing).
Granted - it's been a few months since previously I tried to do this - but this new limitation from Android seriously hampers the usability of termux and who-knows-what-else -- as I need to be able to have access to files that are on my SD Card. (I can still do a lot, even if not everything, even without write permissions -- but am pretty much stuck in the water if I can't get read permissions, as is presently the case.)