I interpreted it as: they removed an API (or reduce the functionality of an API in a way that) they thought was only useful to weeds. But it turned out that there were legitimate uses for that functionality, and it hurt more than just weeds.

I don't really know the details; this is just reflecting my experience from working on platforms.

As you say, in many cases, it ultimately requires human judgement, which is something that engineers are loathe to rely upon.