I don't think that the response is entirely unreasonable; Google doesn't have to comply if they don't want to, and it will just be a game of who flinches first

I don't think that the response is entirely unreasonable; Google doesn't have to comply if they don't want to, and it will just be a game of who flinches first after that. It's not really unprecedented to request a change in policy or to try to influence a service you're using. I agree with you that this should just be an accepted cost of algorithm based advertising, but I don't see the response as particularly unreasonable. The companies want a change in how it works, and they're trying to throw their financial weight behind it. I mean, it's not like they're suing to break contract, they're just not continuing to use the product because it no longer is serving their needs. I'm really not trying to be a corporate apologist here - whether their ads are there or not I won't see them so I frankly don't care. But I'm not sure why there is a condescending attitude towards the corporations for trying to make a change, and then stopping use of a product they deem to no longer meet their needs.