[ocdtrekkie]

It's Google's terms, and Google is the one who determined the mandatory flow of that setup as per agreement with the hardware vendor. The EU could absolutely hold them responsible for not having this sorted out with their partners, it isn't like the OEM put the terms on a device and sold it without Google's permission.

[eitally]

But the OEM is responsible for software support for their devices (this is the entire Android model and why Google has been working so hard on the Treble project the past year+). Since the current version of Android doesn't have this problem, I don't see how this is Google's problem.

[ocdtrekkie]

It's Google's terms for an agreement with Google. How could any reasonable person make the claim it is not Google's problem? Especially considering they had two years to prepare, and 2018 phones still have this problem.

Presumably, if moderately recent phones were compliant, Google could ensure that outdated/invalid consent forms were only tentatively accepted until Play Services updated within the first day or so of activation, and then presented a remedial consent form which was GDPR compliant. The EU would very likely accept this solution as a technical best effort method to ensure older devices were respecting people's rights.

But it sounds like they never really put in the effort. What version of Android is GDPR compliant? 8.1?