That something is possible does not detract from the weight of making it orders of magnitude easier. Noting participants and tracking them down later has always

That something is possible does not detract from the weight of making it orders of magnitude easier. Noting participants and tracking them down later has always worked ... but tech verging on applying those actions classic actions automatically and instantly is very significant. Used to be it could take days/weeks/months to "get" some of the participants; now we're not far (if not already there) from correlating cellphone tracking, face recognition, etc to automatically freeze their funds (credit/debit included), suspend driver's licenses, issue arrest or "person of interest" warrants, and otherwise disrupt & hinder the bulk of participants before they even leave the protest site ... maybe not outright arrest & prosecution, but pushing back hard with little/no human involvement.