I don't see the hypocrisy here. Cobalt is a small, free service that results in Google (or so the argument goes) making less profit. ByteDance are a giant money printing machine using that free service for their own ends. They have more than enough resources to not abuse a free one.
Of course it isn't hypocritical. It's like the old story of the poor man stealing bread to feed his starving family, of course circumstances matter. It's silly to suggest otherwise.
