Friction is the only shield we have ever had to protect against invasion of privacy.
YES!!
Far from downplaying it, I was wondering if anyone would pick up on that! It's a really important point - many "privacy invasions" are things that were possible before, but inconvenient.
The truth is, though, that complaining about it is roughly as useful as the RIAA suing Napster. The internet reduces friction, and aren't privacy controls just another form of censorship that the internet will route around?
Friction is the only shield we have ever had to protect against invasion of privacy.