You can't provide a single counter example and pretend it's the rule. Have you built a product like these and dealt with these tensions? It's a really hard pro

You can't provide a single counter example and pretend it's the rule. Have you built a product like these and dealt with these tensions? It's a really hard problem to balance for 99% of companies. Because a few get away with it doesn't mean it's right for everyone else (or that those that get away with it are intrinsically better). You lose your argument when you resort to ad hominem stuff like "highway robbers". Working on a large consumer internet site is full of necessary compromises.