Few options? Tech companies have incredible lobbying power. They could simply lobby for privacy restrictions, but we're not really seeing that. Instead, feigned helplessness is telegraphed in pieces like this.
Of course, but it would have affected sales. I had a Microsoft VP tell me to my face circa 2010 they saw themselves as “activists” and were investing in more protections for customers. I laughed.
Of course, that's only technically correct. The bills they have been pushing for are terrible, they improve consumer privacy status quo in the worst way possible, by taking one step forward and building a wall that prevents any further steps.
The reason for this is mostly because they hate the idea a GDPR-esq law in the US and hope if they pass enough shitty laws in the states they can forestall federal legislation.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/03/tech-lobbyists-are-pus...
Interview with the author of the above piece on the topic: https://opensourcesecurity.io/2022/02/13/episode-310-hayley-...