Gosh! I didn't realize I was being charged each and every time I pressed that stupid button accidentally. I don't even remember how many times I would have done that!
I have no idea how you could break that stranglehold though, and I've never really seen any good debate on it, only outrage and acceptance of defeat?
The reason people consider it 'scammy' is precisely because there's no way for normal people to avoid the charge(1). They can't remap the key. They can't just not get a data plan. They can't even block data service (technically they can, but they still get charged if they hit the button and it sends back the block message). etc.
Sure, if you hit End fast enough you don't get billed. But does that make it unreasonable to say "I should be able to turn this off altogether"?
(1) I suspect you can deliberately 'break' the data connection settings in the admin menu. This should prevent you from ever completing a data connection and thereby avoiding charges. Though I don't know if that's still possible on current versions of Verizon's crappy phone OS.
Feel free to try the following: Have her hit the button. Don't hit End; let the phone do its thing and reply that you don't have data access. Consult your monthly bill.