Back then, the focus was on optimising for the user.
Now, however, companies prioritise their own interests over the user.
A company can increase its profits (1) by improving their products and services, so that they'll get more customers or customers willing to pay more, or (2) by increasing how much of their revenue is profit by (e.g.) cutting corners on quality or raising prices or selling customers' personal information to third parties.
Either of those can work. Yes, a noble idealistic company might choose #1 over #2 out of virtue, but I think that if most companies picked #1 in the past it's because they thought they'd get richer that way.
I think what's happened is that for some reason #2 has become easier or more profitable, relative to #1, over time. Or maybe it used not to be so clearly understood that #2 was a live option, and #1 seemed safer, but now everyone knows that you can get away with #2 so they do that.
/s
As the old joke went "Unix is user friendly, it's particular about who its friends are".
My first accounts were on Linux 1.x. It was glorious. Simple, sensible, and with manuals one command away. And it allowed you to just get things done. And there were tools. So many tools. 80's home computers and DOS crap and Macs that couldn't even open a file if it hadn't been tagged as the property of some application... Hells I would never have to be a part of any more. Except for work and school. But for personal computing, a brighter future was coming. In 30+ years since I've never had to step away.