this was not an out of the blue error that rarely happens and can easily be forgiven. This was an attempted theft, foiled by the public outcry for simple, logical justice.
stealing from or lying to affiliates is the single worst thing a program can do.
pulling your traffic is the single worst thing you can do to them in return.
stop defending them for trying to steal an affiliates money. that's what they tried to do and were caught with their hand in Chrome's cookie jar
again, this wasn't a random technical error. it was thought out deliberate theft. they were caught and FORCED to return the money.
I wonder if this would have happend in a stronger economy.