Domain squatting issues aside, I must be the only person I know that’s actually used Freenom and don’t trash them. Registrars certainly can be held liable for domain squatting but it’s typically when the registrar actually registers the names and sells them, not on when a 3rd party registers them.

I’m only familiar with the .ml and .gq TLDs and at least for those I’d like to see the respective countries allow more reputable registrars to manage them.