Sadly, I doubt they'll really go through with it. They probably want the positive publicity associated with it, but are either powerless to carry through with it or unwilling to do so... after all, it would cost them money to put up a real fight. Also, they have probably seen what happened to the few companies that tried that already. 
Still it is good news that they are at least giving a fight on it. The NSA is not having everything as easy as they had earlier. Their reputation is tarnished as a result of the revelations by Snowden, and the public is against them.
You're right, it is good news. And the companies feeling they have to at least pretend to care means they're afraid of what it could do to their bottom line if they don't. I guess what I was trying to say is we shouldn't put too much trust in them nonetheless, and we should continue looking for alternatives, as much a possible; after all, the information being kept by them is still accessible through other means by the NSA or other "competent" third parties.
