This article is dumb. Many companies ask you to destroy your product with evidence to show you aren't going to use it if you're not sending it back this isn't new.
A user who applied for an RMA for their Samsung 980 Pro SSD had to go through a few unconventional steps. Samsung asked them to smash the SSD with a hammer/sand it and document the process before sending it back, presumably to ensure maximum data privacy for the user.