Sad but I think your conjecture is spot on. Platforms such as YT abuse their power regularly without batting an eye.

I couldn’t imagine witnessing this in my life, not for something so obvious and in plain sight.

But is it better than 30 years ago or worse? When I hear the suicides committed upon whistleblowers in France 30 years ago, or the Ustica crash, or the Greenpeace boat bombed in NZ, are we committing more today?

I wanted to come back to this prediction and note that the stream was not interrupted during or after the verdict.

Maybe.

Likely true, especially given that the streams in question have apparently been restored. And, given the potential for lives lost and property damage, perhaps justified.