"Why all the cunning and lying about changes that are not real and thinking they're going to trick the Secular Authorities? JUST MAKE IT AN INDIVIDUAL CONSCIENCE MATTER. Most diehard JWs will follow tradition and shun dissenters and WT won't have to LIE about it all."
This is my question too. Genuinely loosening the reins wouldn't cost them too much.
At its core and at the top, the WT seems to be about how hardline they are. The rules seem over the top from the beginning. As in, not as harsh as is necessary to maintain order, but as harsh as they can get away with.
And this is the case now. Instead of a genuine backing away from harsh and unkind rules, they are only lessening them in the minimum sense that they think can persuade governments that they have changed.
As an outsider, I can see that the change is cosmetic. Governments are likely to see it that way too.
Ironically, if the WT was consulting with the exes, they might get some good clues as to what genuine changes need to be made. After all, these are the people with whom the various governments are consulting. The governments will simply ask the exes whose testimonies they have on their books if this is a substantial change, and the exes will simply answer "No".