To be fair, I don't believe that Smithereens is actually as preachy as it comes across.
There is an implication throughout the series that many of the episodes take place in a shared universe. This episode does not have anything in it's content, that I noticed, precluding it from that same timeline. If so, that would make the events of the episode a sort of history events that have already occurred.
Episode 2, Smithereens, appears to take place in the modern day and would probably be in the first three if ordered chronologically. I think that what you are watching is not a moral highroad tale of , but rather a comment on the inevitability of technology to advance and supplant. The role it has in modern life (entertainment, employment, news), as well as the power it has (personal data profiles, private corporations with great power) are major themes for this one.
Even though this man was willing to go to such extreme lengths in an attempt to bring attention to what effect it can have on people, the creator of it is unable to do a thing to stop it. Topher Grace's character, a CEO and founder of a major platform is no more than a figurehead. Neutered, even when giving direct orders to people "below" him hierarchically. The police attempt to keep information limited to the public, but a kid with a phone was enough to bring the world to their doorstep.
Our coexistence with and dependence on technology and a connected world is inevitable, and there is nothing that can stop it. Some people might want to, some might become persuaded, but progress will not stop. These are just minor events that lead into the world of 50 Million Merits.