There's the matter of degree though. Dose makes the poison, and so even the nastiest substances like botox can be used for good, if applied in minuscule amounts. This may be me looking at history through rose-colored glasses, but I feel that the degree of loathing and contempt that a typical business has towards its customers, justifying ever increasing abuse, is a recent phenomenon. Like, newspapers and magazines of yore at least tried - there were comptetent authors writing for quality, and all kinds of ads funding it. The past decade or two? The content is now of negative intellectual value to the reader, and nobody gives a fuck.
The internet acts as a booster in that it makes many things easier. Among others, peddling exploitation and abuse and still surviving economically. I marvel at the patience of people who put up with what you describe.
