Unfortunately, if he submitted an exploit and didn't get banned, we'd see more criticizing Apple for favoritism in enforcing the rules.
They deserve that criticism and it's true, but I can see where they would prioritize actually enforcing those rules, especially in a big publicly-visible incident.
Obviously the best choice from HN's moral point of view is to be more open, more even-handed and less draconian about rules in the first place. But failing that, I can see why they try for "even-handed" over "less draconian," given their own priorities.
They deserve that criticism and it's true, but I can see where they would prioritize actually enforcing those rules, especially in a big publicly-visible incident.
Obviously the best choice from HN's moral point of view is to be more open, more even-handed and less draconian about rules in the first place. But failing that, I can see why they try for "even-handed" over "less draconian," given their own priorities.