What you're missing is that the article says the ones doing the wiping are "responsible recyclers and refurbishers" -- at this point the machine has already pas

What you're missing is that the article says the ones doing the wiping are "responsible recyclers and refurbishers" -- at this point the machine has already passed out of the hands of the owner, so it can't really be argued that the owner's privacy or consent were protected. Kind of like a thief saying they clean cars before reselling them, but now they no longer find the title in the glovebox.