Every few years, a platform that indie publishers relied on changes the rules. Algorithm changes cut organic reach. Monetization programs introduce new requirements or reduce payouts. Accounts get suspended without clear appeal paths. The terms shift in ways that favor the platform over the publisher. This is not a new dynamic. It predates the internet. But the specific form it takes now — where a significant portion of an independent publisher’s audience, revenue, and distribution lives on infrastructure controlled by companies whose interests regularly diverge from the publishers they host — is worth examining directly.