I'm under the impression that Mint is a good first distro for users who want to wean from Windows. "Easy" is a good thing for newbies.

As far as I know, it is very good for that. It is probably one of the best things a previous Windows user could use to make the installation and use of a completely new operating system on random hardware work out to any degree that a regular Windows user would expect.

but is it really "bad for privacy and security?"

That depends on the threat model. I think the vague criteria during discussions results in a wide variety of responses.

Just about any Linux distro (well, not Red Star) is a step up from Windows in terms of privacy and user control.

Not if the users are not controlling it though. Being able to control something is useful, but if one doesn't exercise that control, and relies on default configurations, well, it is not going to be optimal.

Making as much "work" as possible with default configurations means that trackers, proprietary software and services, etc, also work.

NoScript is "not user friendly" because of the way it gives control. The same applies to Linux distros in many ways.

If you can install it and run it on random hardware, and have as much media and third party services work out of the box, you can be sure that the user has exercised very little control.