[659087]

> I thought we were opposed to Google using heavy-handed tactics to police the Internet

When it comes to unpopular or corporation-unfriendly speech, yes. When it comes to outright scams, no.

I wouldn't call not actively helping bad actors promote their scams "heavy handed", anyway. Are rehab scam operators "marginalized persons" now?

[othersideofcoin]

Think of it as less of a binary. It's not "scam operator" or "legitimate operator". Much more nuanced -- the stories are about the clear scam operators, but that may or may not be the long tail. And that long tail may or may not be what we want to optimize for.

One of the major characteristics of a "scam operator" is this situation: Andy runs a treatment center that only takes Cigna. He gets a call from Bob, who has BlueCross. Bob can either do private pay at Andy's Center, for $20k. Or Andy can refer Bob to Mike's Center for BlueCross Patients, where Bob can get treated for $5k out of pocket.*

If Andy and Mike have a business relationship where they refer patients to each other, and either end up benefitting, they are breaking the law.

* Option 2: Andy tells Bob "sorry, we can't treat you. Try calling someone else."