Yeah, the person you're responding to is taking "taint" to mean a literal ban situation; versus the very real status that exists in Linux Kernel development.

"TAINTing" a driver/code doesn't mean it's blacklisted, it means it can't be upstreamed into the GPL codebase. It means that if you build a Kernel with it, it's no longer considered OSS-friendly.

There are plenty of legitimate and viable codebases that use TAINTed kernels. The DoD, various government entities around the world, some commercial interests, etc.