> "Utilize" is more like "make use of" (as in employing something that was otherwise sitting idle) rather than the more straightforward "use".
Utilize means “make practical and effective use of”, the key difference from bare “use” being the “practical and effective” part. It is particularly useful in describing situations where the “practical and effective” would otherwise be contrary to some or all readers expectation, such as when describing the use of a tool about which there are widespread doubts or, a fortiori, one which is generally perceived as a bad fit for the use case being discussed, its also useful, as in the case upthread, when discussing a broad phenomenon of use to which one is reacting, to narrow that description to exclude uses thaf otherwise fit the description provided but which are bot practical and effective.
The upthread use is both discussing a tool which is controversial in all uses and deecribing a broad phenomenon of use in a context where the narrowing od “utilize” is significant, so it seems to be very much the kind of circumstance where “utilize” is most useful and distinct from “use”.