man i wish college kids were given more training before diving into an internship from the what to expect standpoint. This could be a 20 minute class at their career centers in college: these are the X things you need to know (you are not expected to work 100 hours a week free, don't sign Non-Competes, do ask for letters of recommendation, etc).
Internships are supposed to be the real world training though. It seems highly unethical for companies to take advantage of interns because by definition interns are inexperienced.
I had great internships and never felt like I had to be vigilant that the company was trying to take advantage of me, so I could spend my time learning. Its unfortunate that you are most likely correct that colleges should now be informing their students of things they need to avoid or deal with like this.
I did a handful of internships in college, mostly irellevant to my current career and was fortunate to never be taken advantage of. i know many people who unfortunately were.
