It's because such blithe dismissal of the damage caused by data gathering is so prevalent in the industry that the likelihood of devastating compromise is so high and the costs borne by the populace are spiraling upwards.
Some data should never be collected. Some data should never even be uploaded.
I am honestly confused as to how you interpreted my last comment as "utterly cavalier about the prospect of ruining people's lives", when all I said was that your assumption doesn't take into account the actual probability of data being leaked and it doesn't weigh any of the benefits of data collection against that risk.
I can only hope that karma visits those who arrogate to themselves the decision to sacrifice a few of their fellow human beings: may they and their loved ones become the sacrifices.