Google couldn’t do it, not effectively anyway because android vendors and variants are decentralised. They could do it for the pixels but that represents less thats half a percent of the market - not to mention that everyone on a pixel could just move to lineageOS if they didn’t like it.

That freedom and decentralisation doesn’t exist on Apple (at least yet, maybe the DOJ or congress will regulate them).

That's a great argument for a Linux phone or de-googled Android build.

Then don't use Google products either (or don't use for photography). Seems obvious.

"Dumb" phones and "dumb" cameras still exist.