I think people greatly underestimate the expense of legal disputes, in terms of money, time and energy required. When you’re going up against industry legal professionals who are backed by large companies with government influence, it’s an unfair battle from the start.

I can’t blame anyone for giving the possibility a wide berth, and it speaks to the need of more fediverse instances in places with better legal protections. There’s a good reason why some services are based in the Caribbean - it’s protection from the litigious easily fucking with your entire life with scattershot automated subpoenas.