Except, we do not know how these people might have felt. Infrastructures of the time might not have allowed for much personal space and anonymity, but there's a reason the world has evolved in the direction it has, and that's because it follows our desires; we wanted more space, we got larger cities, and we got personal and private spaces in conjunction to that. We don't know what sort of discomfort or even trauma these people may have felt being exposed like this. Just like it is uncomfortable and unpleasant to us now, to know that some large corporation has access to things we'd like to remain private.

I think the difference as you mentioned is in what's done with our data. We want the benefits without the downsides, which is what many laws try to cover, by allowing access to data, while anonymizing at the same time. And I think that's okay, why shouldn't we get great and exponential services without being exploited?