James Burke, better known for his
Connections series, also produced on called "The Day the Universe Changed". In it he explores how the changing understanding, and sometimes simply
views of the world, humans' place in it, and what is right and wrong, change the Universe (or at least our perception of it) itself.
One segment from the final episode featured on HN a few weeks ago. It references the burning of witches, in Scotland, from earlier in the same episode. Burke's point was that a set of beliefs which had once carried legal force no longer does. That route can run in reverse, and it's quite possible for beliefs, or actions, previously legally sanctioned (or at least not criminalised) to become otherwise. Prohibitions against ex post facto laws limit this in many jurisdictions, but changes in social mores are less forgiving. I've lived long enough to see some remarkable changes along several such lines, and have witnessed social and political upheavals elsewhere that are even more pronounced.
There's the question of whether or not it's the fact of a durable record, or the abuse of power through that record, that is the real root of the problem. As Aesop noted, any excuse will do for a tyrant. But the persistent record does seem to pose certain problems. Particularly against a shifting set of judgements.