[catnaroek]

> Not if the problem is due to a compiler change which breaks something that has worked for decades and in other compilers too.

The compiler writer is within their rights to perform any changes that don't contravene the language specification, whether it breaks other people's code or not.

> "We can do anything we want within the limits set out by the ISO language spec, and that spec alone; (...)"

Yes.

> "(...) let the downstream consumers sort out whatever happens."

It's the language user's responsibility to make sure they write meaningful programs.