In Germany the dumb "Vorratsdatenspeicherung" debate came back a few days ago.
It's really dumb and I suspect it is because the average 50 year old in Germany doesn't have a smartphone and has never used the internet or any social media (comparable to a 70 year old in the US I guess). They just hear political talk about it and don't get it.
Boomers like this would react completely differently if this was about opening physical letters. Although it would literally be the same thing.