That's when the LLM labs emerged and started collecting the data en masse. Likewise, virtually all other major social media players added barriers to unfettered anonymous access. Reddit worked without an account, and with multiple alternative client apps, until spez changed it, right?
Would've happened either way. Data is more valuable and also trivial to scrape now.
Which is the root of the problem - that we have allowed companies to claim ownership over and sell their user's data.
Usenet worked without any antispam, until the first spammer appeared.