This IRS story reveals a few truths. First, the distinction between government and corporate privacy invasion has blurred. You can no longer resist one and ignore the other.

Law enforcement has realized they can get surveillance data much more easily from a data broker, than through a warrant.

Second, you aren’t powerless to do something about your privacy. The same backlash that caused the IRS’s about face will work in the tech world, as long as people make their voices heard, and vote for technology that protects their privacy.