Even if the FISA court is eliminated (fat chance), it will not change much in the long haul. "Cooperation" will be encouraged by many legal means.
We should not expect that corporate-owned property will be used in a way that we are all happy and hunky-dory about. If we do not like that, change the laws.
Exactly. The can do whatever they please. They have the power to tell the NSA to take a hike. And that power makes them look strong in the eyes of their customers.
And that strong action is not the one they took. They had the power to do whatever they pleased with their data that their customers gave them, and they chose to hand it to the government. And that makes them look weak.
This is a perception issue that is not directly (but is certainly indirectly) tied to a bottom line. Sure, they government will give them some cash - and sure they'd fire up a few lawsuits if the companies refused to cooperate. But all of that is chump change compared to revenue from 'all non-US customers'.
What could have happened? Maybe they didn't expect it will be whistle-blowed, maybe they realized that the NSA is so technologically strong that making such obstructions doesn't really matter, or they were receiving other benefits for cooperating, who knows? ...but I think it will be clearer after a few more Guardian articles. ;-)