They don't neccessarily need to, you can pretty much always just look at reviews. Now you can make a point about trusting reviewers, but all that is still better than trusting the manufacturer or microsoft.
You're right though, there is trust involved, but only if you don't verify things yourself.
The problem with those is that it's often just a piece of plastic, so the microphone isn't cut off from power. The webcam sees noching, but sound is unaffected.
Get a laptip with a real hardware switch for the cam and the mic. Best peace of mind knowing that they're really off. Neither tape, nor the non-electrical built-in plastic sliders do that.
You can still vote with your wallet. Don't drive your car unless absolutely neccessary, don't use anything 'cloud' or 'AI' and pressure companies on social media to watch their emissions.
The Ampel may have gained control over the government at the worst possible time. Everything is currently shit and people always blame the government, even though some of that is not under their control, which currently places blame on the only three important center-left parties. Thus people turn right.
Thing is, they would've probably gained even more votes if they didn't incur so many scandals recently. People will probably forget about those until the next national elections