Yes--it isn't a simple consumer(client) /merchant relationship here between SUP and the users--it is a simple merchant/client(consumer) relationship between SUP and the advertisers. The user's position is a hybrid one.

The first step of protesting SUP's business practice is to stop paying them. Permanent account holders lose this protest power, which is why I purposely didn't buy a perm account for my main journal on LJ, and won't do so on IJ either. Though now that I'm newly employed, I'm going to upgrade to a paid account on IJ.