I don't see why every claim about a Chinese company must come with a "but X company is just as bad" comparison. Consumers need to be informed about risks to their privacy. Moralizing about who is the worst offender transforms the discussion away from privacy education.
It's malicious all on its own. Any entity handling your data poorly and collecting more than strictly necessary poses a risk to you.
Where this gets fuzzy is when you get into the identities of the perpetrator and the victim. Are you a Uighar in China? Well, then China is clearly a pressing threat to you. Are you a Muslim in Burma? Perhaps then China is not very much of a threat. What if you're an American in the US military? What if you're from a hostile country, but traveling to the US? Etc ... People don't always map this risk out in a way that I believe is sensible. Many Americans are worried about using Google, and are much more comfortable with China spying on them than Google. Is this a valid concern? I think it depends on who you are and what you believe about either entity. But, that's sort of the point. The "is X company/country" evil?" discussion can be a bit fruitless, subjective, and politically divisive.
A much more useful conversation for everyone is "Entity X collects the following kinds of data, and shares it with the following parties." In this scenario, a disagreement about who is the real political evil is not necessary. The more this information is made available, the more disparate groups can protect ourselves.
