Dark pattern to "erode" an unprofitable category of users...?
"Oops, we had a technical problem and now your lifetime option is gone. Unfortunately we have no way to create new lifetime subscriptions, because of technical changes. As a goodwill gesture, here's a free year on $some_other_yearly_service. Whatchagonnado, sue us for a few pennies? lolmao"
Repeat a few times until everyone gets the memo or resource usage from that category goes under "acceptable" levels of waste.
> Whatchagonnado, sue us for a few pennies? lolmao
Are courts ever gonna learn how to deal with these huge corporations? They probably think it's cheaper to pay the fines than to obey the law and do the right thing.
This sounds like the perfect kind of thing for class actions. Another commenter mentioned that there's no arbitration clause so that shouldn't be an impediment.
Even with arbitration, the new pattern is to write a bot to mass file arbitration cases. DoorDash was arguing that the thousands of arbitration cases filed against them in one day should've been converted into a class action lawsuit. They ended up paying millions in arbitration fees alone.
Google may just want to adjust their "acceptable waste" tolerance imho, they seem to be one of the most egregiously miserly companies at present. I understand the need for them to correct from a prior extreme on the other end but this is an over-correction when you're collecting the rents from your most stable income stream...
Inability to consider higher-order or longer-term effects is more or less the hallmark of McKinsey-style thinking, which Google has now embodied with their choice of CEO.
"Oops, we had a technical problem and now your lifetime option is gone. Unfortunately we have no way to create new lifetime subscriptions, because of technical changes. As a goodwill gesture, here's a free year on $some_other_yearly_service. Whatchagonnado, sue us for a few pennies? lolmao"
Repeat a few times until everyone gets the memo or resource usage from that category goes under "acceptable" levels of waste.