I agree! Many people are grossly exaggerating the harm so that they can scoff at the justification of "doing good".
And it was a gesture that was not theirs to make. Did they ever consider just asking the publishers for permission? They might actually have gotten it. Companies were quite eager to do things to show they were trying to help back in March and April. But I've looked and found nothing saying they asked, so I'm guessing they didn't. Probably because they thought asking would look bad if they were told "no" and did it anyway.
We are a society of laws passed by representatives, not formed in one's mind on the spot.