There isn't a reason to run a section of your company if it costs you money.

It's funny that you say this, because Google intentionally ran YouTube without making any profit from it for many years. The goal (which they succeeded in) was to starve out any competition and establish YouTube as the online video monopoly. Ever since establishing that monopoly, they've been squeezing more and more money out of the platform knowing that social inertia will work against any would-be competitors (everything is on YouTube, all of the content creators are on YouTube, all of the viewers are on YouTube, so how does someone convince enough people to move to another platform?).

True but data collection is still done and generates $$$

Think about gmail & Google docs

Yes there is a reason to run a part of your business at a loss. It is well known market strategy and it is called a Loss Leader.

You offer a product or services at a loss because it helps you generate more revenue in another part of your business.

And plenty of companies keep products that don't make money, because they are Loss Leaders into products that do make money.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader

There are lots of reasons that one area of your company may make less money. It’s like how the NYC subway or post office technically don’t “make money” but the value they bring to the whole system is a net positive by enabling all the other companies to make way more.