With Android 16 upgrade Google should be sued under anti-competative law!

Google is again engaging in anti-competative or in the United States, antitrust behaviour, which is against the law.

With this new action Google is getting rid of ALL competitors, where Android phones must run through Google (it's about 'forcing' the licencing of GMS (Google Mobile Services)), where they are not able to function under AOSP (Android Open Source Project), such as Lingeage OS and GraphenOS.

AOSP is a baseline operating system of Android which manufacturers (e.g Samsung, Motorola, Huawei, etc) use before they load up their hardware with their spyware bloated version of Android.

Lingeage and Graphene, are among a few custom open source Android operating systems called ROMs, that do not have highly invasive 'spyware' that Google and other phone manufaturers (e.g. Samsung) install on their phones, which can be a danger to people's lives where they require privacy or anonimity as a result of their job or for other reasons.

The tech and legal communites MUST take action against Google's latest 'illegal' practice.

Whether they will, is another story that time will tell.

See a Comparison of Android-based Operating Systems:

Source: https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm

Most of these ROMs are privacy (and security) focused, where Google's actions are an attack on user's privacy and therefore security.

Google is deliberately killing off AOSP.

At the end of the day it's all about data collection by the giants Google and Apple, where the latest actions by Google are part of the global 'Nanny State' agenda where only duopoly powerhouses exist.

If you truly value your privacy, then Google products are not the ones that you will achieve privacy with.

See the following article by androidpolice.com of the following headline:

Google’s latest AOSP move spells doom for custom ROMs on Pixel phones

In March of this year, Google revealed it is changing its Android development process and will no longer make real-time code commits to public AOSP branches. The change barely had any public or development impact. But now, with the release of Android 16, Google is making a bigger change to AOSP that will affect the development of custom ROMs for Pixels.

For years, Google used its Pixel phones as reference devices for AOSP development. As part of this, the company also published the device trees and driver binaries, ensuring that developers could compile a fully working AOSP build of Android for Pixels. Custom ROM developers also relied on the same device trees and driver binaries to ensure core features worked properly in their ROMs.

This won't be the case going forward, though. While Google has already published the Android 16 source code, it won't be releasing the device trees and driver binaries for compatible Pixel phones. The Graphene OS team initially claimed that Google made this change as it planned to discontinue AOSP entirely.

However, Seang Chau, VP and GM of Android Platform, refuted such rumors and provided a clearer picture (via Android Authority). He made it clear that Google is not doing away with AOSP. But going forward, AOSP will use a reference target device "that is flexible, configurable, and affordable — independent of any particular hardware, including those from Google." And so, Google is switching from Pixels to Cuttlefish — a virtual Android device— as the reference AOSP device. Since it's a virtual platform, developers can run Cuttlefish remotely or locally.

Custom ROM development for Pixel phones just got a lot more difficult                

This move from Google will change the custom ROM development scene for Pixel phones forever.

 Unlike other Android devices, device trees and binaries made it relatively easier for developers to build ROMs for Pixel devices.

Without them, they would have to reverse-engineer prebuilt binaries to find out the changes that Google made — a challenging and time-consuming process. The lack of kernel source code commit history from Google only adds to the complexity.

Think of these device trees and binaries as the Android equivalent of drivers on a Windows PC — they ensure the operating system can properly communicate with the device's hardware.

Google's latest changes to AOSP will have a major impact if you run LineageOS or another custom ROM on your Pixel. That's a dwindling number, though, as custom ROMs are no longer as popular as they once were. Still, it's a major setback for leading custom ROM projects, like LineageOS and GrapheneOS.

See other related articles:

Privacy-Focused GrapheneOS Warns Google Is Locking Down Android

Comments from the above link:

Android’s open future questioned after Google withholds Pixel code

Android’s Impossible Deadline—3 Weeks To Update Or Stop Using Phones

A tricky dilemma for Android users this week, as both Google and Samsung release this month’s Pixel and Galaxy security updates with critical missing fixes. And with a June 24 deadline to secure phones or power them down, something needs to give. There are 30-plus important fixes that have been released, but not the ones that matter most.

The fixes are long-awaited patches from Qualcomm, which warns Android users that “there are indications from Google Threat Analysis Group that CVE-2025-21479, CVE-2025-21480, CVE-2025-27038 may be under limited, targeted exploitation.” The flaw affects Adreno Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) drivers.

It is assumed but not known that exploitation would have been used in commercial spyware software, similar to the well publicized attacks outed by Amnesty International. Qualcomm says patches “have been made available to OEMs in May together with a strong recommendation to deploy the update on affected devices as soon as possible.”

The deadline which comes courtesy of America’s cyber defense agency is mandatory for federal staff and recommended for everyone else. CISA warns “multiple Qualcomm chipsets contain” these vulnerabilities, which it describes as follows:

• CVE-2025-27038: “A use-after-free vulnerability. This vulnerability allows for memory corruption while rendering graphics using Adreno GPU drivers in Chrome.”
• CVE-2025-21480: “An incorrect authorization vulnerability. This vulnerability allows for memory corruption due to unauthorized command execution in GPU micronode while executing specific sequence of commands.”
• CVE-2025-21479: “An incorrect authorization vulnerability. This vulnerability allows for memory corruption due to unauthorized command execution in GPU micronode while executing specific sequence of commands.”

CISA has slapped a 21-day mandatory deadline on federal agency employees to update phones by June 24 “or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.” Right now, the window for June’s security updates has been missed, which means absent an out-of-band update that deadline will also be missed.

In the past, we have seen such updates make their way to Pixel faster than Galaxy, with Samsung phones lagging. The company warns patches from chipset vendors “may not be included in the security update package of the month. They will be included in upcoming security update packages as soon as the patches are ready to deliver.”

This plays into the challenge for Samsung in working around an OS and ecosystem it dominates but doesn’t control. In that regard, the more pressing issue for its users will be the speed with which Android 16 via One UI 8 reaches their phones. With a Pixel timeline expected any day now, the gap between the two phones will be critical.

While CISA’s deadline is only mandatory for federal staff, its remit is to operate “for the benefit of the cybersecurity community and network defenders — and to help every organization better manage vulnerabilities and keep pace with threat activity.” As such all users are urged to install these Qualcomm updates as soon as they’re available.

Source:Forbes