@Jeffrey Young with all respect, I don't think Asus can make this closed source as the base for the firmware is open source Linux with many open source elements (like dropbear, dnsmasq, openssl, openvpn, curl, Busybox and Nano). Yes, proprietary elements (like Broadcom wireless drivers or TrendMicro) can be closed source. But with respect to the open source elements, Asus would be in violation of their own licenses if they did not release the source code as this is required by GPL v2. As even companies like Google (annual sales 160 BUSD) use open source Linux in Android, I would not see AsusTek (2020 annual sales trending toward 13 MUSD) developing their own OS. As
@Jeffrey Young and
@JGrana remember I am sure, back in the day Unix (as developed by Bell Labs) was a very expensive operating system and AT&T sued everyone including the University of California who tried to emulate Unix. So having the open source model with release of the source code is a blessing, and I agree with you that it is a shame that some cannot follow the rules.