Corporations are obliged to their shareholders, not their consumers. Furthermore, if the service is marketed as free to downstream consumers, those same consume

Corporations are obliged to their shareholders, not their consumers. Furthermore, if the service is marketed as free to downstream consumers, those same consumers are more likely in some way the product. Therefore, any action that increases shareholder confidence in the company is liable to be taken. Harming downstream consumers can sometimes be damaging to shareholder confidence, but isn't necessarily. In essence, companies are incentivized to be "assholes" when it furthers their valuation. Unfortunately, being an "asshole" is very often a lucrative move as long as it's done carefully. I don't believe everyone who works at a large corporation (example being Amazon) is evil and immoral. However, collective action taken by the company on large scales has shown in many cases to have "asshole" effects. Also, fuck Jeff Bezos.