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Yes exactly. In the past we had privacy/anonymity in public because it simply wasn't feasible to follow everyone, everywhere, all the time. The technology did not exist, and while you could follow selected individuals around, that quickly broke down at numbers greater than "a few." Some regimes did it more than others (the old DDR/Stasi for example) but even they could only keep a close eye on targeted individuals, places, and events.

Now we have cameras on every major road and intersection, most places of business, most transportation facilities, and most public gathering places. We have facial recognition and license plate readers, and cheap storage that is easily searched and correlated. Almost all communications are logged if not recorded. Even the postal service is now imaging the outside of every envelope.

All because it's cheaper and easier.

I think it remains a useful distinction. framing this as an evolution ("cheaper") helps understand the problem space. for example, the motivations, capabilities and effectiveness of existing players

> "Cheaper/easier" is what creates consequences, not "new".

Nuclear bomb?

Imagine if they were cheaper and easier to manufacture