It absolutely is, because at the most cynical view, it's an ingenious way for governments to also reduce the number of areas where people can gather to protest

It absolutely is, because at the most cynical view, it's an ingenious way for governments to also reduce the number of areas where people can gather to protest in large numbers, etc. They can just shrug and say "it's private land." (I'm talking about cases where the gov sold public land to a private entity, not where a private entity just opened up their property)