It was actually that simple. Apple gave everyone the album. It just assigned that album to everyone's library. It could be deleted from the device, but it stay

It was actually that simple. Apple gave everyone the album. It just assigned that album to everyone's library. It could be deleted from the device, but it stayed attached to your account. So it showed up in your library when you searched even if you didn't have it downloaded, because that's how Apple's library worked. I'm not sure how that's "paternalistic" in any sense of the word. I didn't move the goalpost. This article, and commentary, is specifically about how Apple is adding technology that can be used to invade our privacy or be abused by state actors. A bad marketing tactic from seven years ago that amounted to a free gift no one wanted is an absolutely ridiculous example.