For context, I’m pretty sure the “you can link without asking permission” remark in the article is referring to the practice of deep linking, rather than linking to the top level of the site as sites with the advertising-heavy “entry tunnels” that used to be popular might prefer. It does not appear to be talking about any other potential source of liability for posting a link.

With that out of the way, the power dynamic this post is talking about is a real one. Blocking Google entirely would certainly be emotionally satisfying, and in some sense it’s the “right” move in that, like, fuck Google, the power the company holds can only be dismantled if we all stop helping it.

With that said, it is hard to imagine any site that relies on advertising revenue voluntarily choosing to do this. It’s a reasonable thing to do at the individual level for people whose purpose in putting stuff online has nothing to do with getting it in front of the broadest possible audience, but unfortunately that’s not most sites these days.