This is an extreme position, and IMO unrealistic. The key term here is "a moral-less dumb pipe." I'm not sure it's even realistic to expect "dumb pipes" to me

This is an extreme position, and IMO unrealistic. The key term here is "a moral-less dumb pipe." I'm not sure it's even realistic to expect "dumb pipes" to me morally neutral, but that doesn't matter because Spotify is not trying to be a dumb pipe. This is about podcasting, so let's stick with that. We already have/had a dumb pipe for podcasting. RSS. Podcasting is more free than most online media specifically for this reason. It uses an open protocol instead of a corporate platform. Notice how there is no post about RSS' policy regarding this war. Spotify is, currently, trying to obtain exclusivity over top podcasts... taking podcasts off the "dumb pipe." The goal is to eventually dominate podcasting as they do streaming music. That's the opposite of platform neutrality, dumb pipes, decentralized moral choices, etc. If you want dumb pipes, that idea is not really compatible with corporate fiefdoms in 2022 practice.