They said they would protect your privacy, not facilitate criminal activity.

If the whole reason you want privacy is to facilitate criminal activity, you're going to have a bad time.

But it also raises the question: Doesn't political dissent often get categorized as "criminal activity?"

I think the bigger question is if these services will stand up for obviously bogus charges when it comes to political dissidents. I actually don't really have a problem with them being willing to shut down accounts associated with ransomware. However, I do understand how exceptions made for "criminal activity" can end up being directed at people who simply have a differing political opinion.

Finally, when it comes to political dissidence: If you are under the thumb of an authoritarian government, is violence taken to achieve freedom considered a "criminal act" by these privacy companies?

These companies have potentially put themselves in a very thorny situation in regards to their intended purpose.