This is how I see it.
I think they're driven by numbers most of all - the numbers of the almighty dollar, of course, but also the number of publishers and pioneers. The WTBTS is, after all, a publishing corporation and while we're not privy to many of the inside details, much of their tortuous twisting over time has been a response to real or perceived threats to income and head counts.
Publishing costs and legal impediments used to be the biggest concerns, but in the 21st century the information on the Internet represents the single largest threat to their existence. They know it - hence the ever-increasing hysterics about associating with apostates and visiting forbidden sites. Doctrinally, they are again making overtures to change their history: unfortunately for them, they are aware that flip-flops continue to be a matter of record and that we are adding everything they do to the mountain of evidence against their frankly preposterous claims that they are the faithful and discreet slave mentioned in Matthew. The latest attempt seems to be opening moves in an attempt to divorce themselves from Charles Taze Russell. It's a start, but unfortunately the WTBTS has a lot more doctrinal garbage than that to be taken out to the curb, and the GB knows that they must use small steps to avoid scaring away the flock. The tactics may be sound but they no longer have favorable ground, or time, to execute their plans.
They realize they need to harness the Internet, but the same browsers that lead to jw.org also lead to sites like this one. The only winning move I could see for the Society is to design and sell oracles - computer tablets with the NWT and a browser that only goes to jw.org with a beastly bit of code protecting against 'jailbreaking'.
