IP filtering is an easy way to show due diligence (hey gov'ment we tried to enforce your laws) without having to invest a ton of money into new technology and/or employee overhead for things like residency verification, etc.

I'm not saying its fair, just simple.

Also, @ your response to second quote, it was stated that the first thought is a hacked account...not the final conclusion. I think that is a fair and accurate statement.

I think a lot of your arguments, while they may be logical and probably makes sense, are very specific and may not make sense implementing from the perspective of a large scale company given the current state of affairs and industry regulation.