In a sense, whatever we build is always built upon someone else's platform. The Internet itself is someone else's platform. The legal framework in our respective countries is someone else's platform. These two platforms are harder to control than an online service like Facebook, but they can likewise be controlled in ways that are stifling and unfair.

Given that every useful platform is owned by someone else, I despise arguments of the form "Such-and-such a platform is not yours, so don't complain if its owners behave like jerks". I agree that complaining is generally fruitless and we must be cautious about binding ourselves to platforms where we are essentially disenfranchised. However, I think we all have the right to call out thuggish actions wherever we see them and to insist that platform owners treat their users and dependents respectfully. I will cheer for people who stand up to jerks before I criticize them for having exposed themselves up to harm from a platform's owners.