If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say no, it's not coming from above as any kind of policy, official or unofficial. In my estimation, policies from above don't liberalize anything. Look at the behavior of tantrumming CO's. They want more, more, more.
I think this might be a phenomenon that's actually rising from the bottom up. People have had a break in their indoctrination via Covid. No door to door and no physical meetings. Remember that successful indoctrination needs to keep you too busy to really think deeply about it.
There's also an element of the person putting much physical effort into it that creates a kind of self indoctrination by means of the Sunk Cost fallacy: "I've put too much of my life into this to give up now. I've given my best years of blood, sweat and tears. I need to stick around for the payoff."
But during the Covid closures, even the most faithful were not going door to door. They were not giving up hours to drive to the hall and back to attend meetings. Some were not getting dressed up in meeting clothes, especially after they just Zoomed in with cameras off. There was finally enough time away to think a little, and maybe more importantly to get accustomed to and enjoy a much freer life.
So, in my opinion, Covid broke the Cult. From the bottom up. No wonder the Org is angry and desperate. They're used to having control from the top down. But, the cat has been let out of the bag and the old pussycat ain't going back in anytime soon.
That's why one "brother" spoke to ThomasMore and that's why I predict more to follow. The brothers have simply finally heard the sound of their consciences and are listening to them.