This data is being collected. And stories about that are being leaked, so that people feel (slightly) watched. Nobody in any (halfway intelligent) government wa

This data is being collected. And stories about that are being leaked, so that people feel (slightly) watched. Nobody in any (halfway intelligent) government wants a Nazi like Gestapo or SS patrols. They know that offensively acting against dissent would actually drive dissent. So they take a book out of Bentham's Panopticon [0] and translate it into modern society. You know you are being watched. And you know that there is a possibility that the government can construct something out of all that data. And if there is no data about you that is even more suspicious. So on a subliminal level the subduing effects are there. The status quo is being kept stable for the elites at least. People listen to entertainment news, see the next villain that we are shown and are happy the government protected us from whatever danger is the new fad (either Chinese imports, Muslim terrorists, socialists or whatever floats their boat). Media? Media is there to make money. Whatever drives advertising dollars wins. This data collection is there to subdue society at large. Not stop any single crime. If there were no crime/school shooting/act of terrorism nobody would buy the next surveillance bill and re-elect our masters. /s