Dropping $44 billion on a social platform wasn't about profit margins. It was a bet on something bigger—keeping voices uncensored when everyone else is hitting the mute button.

Now? Racking up fines left and right just to hold that line. Most execs would fold after the first lawsuit. But some fights aren't measured in quarterly earnings.

This isn't corporate strategy. It's picking a hill to defend when the industry's walking the other way. The cost? Already paid. The alternative? A world where platforms decide what you're allowed to say.