The question isn't really whether power has been "limited" (it's unclear to me what that would even mean, honestly), but the form in which it is constituted and what institutions it rests with. Like, it's pretty clear that the institutions which control and manage daily life and politics in 21st century America are of a much different character than the ones of the mid-20th century USSR, which are again much different than, say, 16th century Europe or what have you.
> did the Roman’s not have this problem?
I'm relatively confident that Roman society did not have to contend with the accumulation of power by multi-national corporate bodies and the relative weakening of democratic institutions that results, nor the degree to which such corporations are able to leverage 21st century technology to exert control over individuals' lives.