The Internet's a bit different, it's more of a virtual wild west... at least it used to be. If your service has a real world presence and you cut corners then you're more likely to bother someone - especially if you want to be ubiquitous.
Where I'm located existing taxi drivers are also independent contractors (freelancers) running under taxi brands. Those taxis are still regulated by authorities to make sure they comply with laws and charge standard price bands - they do spot checks and the licenses are revoked if problems occur. Technology companies shouldn't be given a free ticket just because they're the next big thing.
My first big website was written in this language around 1998-2000 (before being converted to PHP). Loved how concise Rebol is, with everything being blocks, and how you could write a website or GUI based app with minimal effort. I also loved how PHP had a function for practically everything so it won and still continues to win (despite trying stuff like Ruby/Perl/Go/etc).
That's just a typical US TV audience, the crowd freaks out at the slightest thing. The people who make the shows are probably grateful for the padding, but it's grating for viewers who aren't used to it.