Gregory Maxwell wrote:
It makes absolutely no sense for ES wiki to forbid a particular kind of image but then allow it to be inlined unless its some file the WMF couldn't legally host (and also wouldn't forbid as a part of the WP content).
One of the main purposes in restricting non-free materials is to keep the content of the WP freely available… from the prospective of a user of Wikipedia a remotely loaded inline image is equivalent to a locally hosted image, except that the remotely loaded image violates their privacy.
If ES wouldn't permit the upload for this purpose then they ought not permit the inline injection.
That's a reasonable point. It's a matter of discussion for the community, though. I agree that those remotely loaded images are undesirable. But the inline images at the search page are conceptually different from those at articles. The images at the search page "belong" to the skin. Not to mention that uploading into a wiki where they shouldn't otherwise be allowed, will inevitably lead to someone trying to use them on articles.