Google has announced that in September 2026, Android devices will no longer be able to install any app that their owner chooses. Instead, Android will block installation of apps unless the app's author has uploaded government ID to Google, paid Google money, and agreed to Terms and Conditions that contain "Google may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Program or any services at any time, with or without notice."
One of the benefits of Free/Libre/Open Source Software is that it's hard to ship malware because users can just remove undesired functionality. As a community, this can take the form of users switching to a fork that removes the undesired functionality. I guess we'll see if Android is, in practice, the Free/Libre/Open Source Software it has always proudly proclaimed itself to be. Some community forks to be aware of: LineageOS, GrapheneOS
Stay up-to-date on this at keepandroidopen.org.