The problem with a lot of these affiliate sites (which I alluded to in the conclusion of the article but perhaps didn't spend quite enough time on) is that they provide a small disclosure of their relationships in their footer or in the article. But they do it as inconspicuously as possible to avoid the drawbacks of disclosing anything.

I have a lot more respect for the sites that prominently disclose their relationships, like Wirecutter. Most of these sites are a business, they've gotta make money somehow. But IMO most readers aren't seeking out such disclosures automatically when they see a "review", so the hidden-in-the-footer nonsense is entirely useless.

So is what Equifax did, but guess what, they're still in business. You can see the "settlement" at [1]. And guess what?

"Whether or not you choose to get free credit monitoring from Equifax, the company will continue to collect information about you."

In other words:

"Even though we got hacked, we're still going to collect your information so it can get leaked again, lolz".

Awesome FTC right there.

[1]: https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/refunds/eq...