This company doesn't understand public relations. Rather than countering bad PR with good PR, they decided to double down, cutting off their nose to spite their face.
The Streisand Effect is starting to function like the Law of Averages in some people's minds. There is no publicity fairy flying around to right all wrongs. Publicizing things is extremely hard if they don't go viral, and they only go viral if they are funny, cute, bizarre, or incredibly cruel.
A company I once worked for was violating several state laws. When I brought it to the owner's attention, he threatened to sue me. When I reported it to the state†, he fired me and said he was going to send his lawyers after me.
They never got the chance. The state shut him down a few weeks later.
†Note: When you report something to the state, in some states, you have no right to privacy. Not every state has whistleblower protections. This was explained to me by the state liaison I spoke with. He said under state law, he had to tell the employer who filed the complaint.