Platforms would die without the gray zone they condemn

Platforms would die without the gray zone they condemn

Hot take: the platform publicly fighting aggressive advertisers is privately addicted to their spend. Cut every gray-hat budget tomorrow and watch the quarterly numbers — and the stock — fall off a cliff.

The enforcement theater exists to keep regulators and journalists satisfied while the revenue keeps flowing. They need just enough visible punishment to look clean and just enough tolerated edge-running to hit their targets. It's a managed equilibrium, not a war.

You're not the enemy of the platform. You're its embarrassing breadwinner.

Agree? Fight me in the comments.