i doubt it’d be for that: if it’s a malicious link, they can just remove the post/link from their platform and the same effect is achieved

best case scenario it’s planning for when atproto has more PDSes, front-ends, etc: in that case, a central place where all platform links go so that you can set your “home” server so that all links into atproto redirect to your home server

worst case it’s for tracking click through for advertising