This is not at all historically accurate. List brokers have existed for at least half a century. Tracking advertising with coupons can be traced to the 1800's if not earlier.

Catalog sales, mail order and direct mail businesses have been doing for the last century all of the same things we do today online.

The only thing that changed is the speed and access of information. The same way we didnt hear about conflicts two continents away, we didnt hear about the stores reselling our data.

Im not saying we dont have a privacy problem today, but its far from something new.