I can't believe the article in the comment above made it on to Bloomberg View. It uses a completely incorrect definition of front-running - claiming it is a "loose" term. It isn't. Front running is illegal. It requires advanced knowledge of a customer order (as the definition linked from the article states!) That means seeing the order before it appears on a market data feed. "Gleaning" information about the order using publicly available information is not front-running. That is reacting to the market.
This abuse of the term completely confuses the entire debate.
I understand your concern and do appreciate your point, but can you elaborate on why you think the definition is so black and white? Simple illegality oftentimes makes wrongdoing less clear, for example with insider trading.
This abuse of the term completely confuses the entire debate.