They did that by breaking user privacy and security on an unprecedented level. That's why I said they are Just Bad - their practices are terrible. But they were

They did that by breaking user privacy and security on an unprecedented level. That's why I said they are Just Bad - their practices are terrible. But they were good at selling (i.e. deflecting when challenged on their bad behaviour), and that worked. They are "better" than alternatives in the same way Oracle is "better" than other database vendors.