I have an even simpler theory. These things have always existed - the Internet and technology has just brought unprecedented scale to the same problems. It's

I have an even simpler theory. These things have always existed - the Internet and technology has just brought unprecedented scale to the same problems. It's the literal incarnation of "lies fly around the world 10 times before the truth gets its boots on" Scaled audience, speed, response, impact. It's not just a dimension of the problem, it creates a qualitatively different problem because of the asymmetry between harm and remedy. You could always pirate works - the issue is now you can do it at scale. You could always use low tech (human) "facial recognition" to ban people from events - now you can do it at scale. You could always do revenge porn / gossip / shaming - now you can do it at scale. And you could always boycott / "cancel culture" someone - scale. I think our biggest mistake is trying to apply 20th (or worse, 18th) century thinking to these issues.