Companies like Google do not do anything as a selfless act of benevolence. That's a myth, and in 2025, it would really be the time to stop fostering that myth.
So instead of only students and the projects the contribute to, Google
also gets something in return? Meaning everybody wins? What's wrong with
that, isn't that the perfect outcome?
It forces them to register for a Google account
Authentication and authorization are things, especially when you're
financially compensating people. Most projects or teams will require you
to create something to do or receive something, be it an account on
Salsa, or a GPG key, or whatever. And you can delete your account after.