Maybe just the generic nature of the problem description. Are they talking about Google Analytics? Cloudflare? Black hats running WiFi access points? Infiltrated Tor endpoints? Forced proxies at schools and companies? State actors? Local malware and antivirus? Rogue apps and browser extensions? Via what mechanisms?
Hard to comment on it in a general sense. There's lots of forms of pervasive monitoring.
"Pervasive Monitoring (PM) is widespread (and often covert) surveillance through intrusive gathering of protocol artefacts, including application content, or protocol metadata such as headers. Active or passive wiretaps and traffic analysis, (e.g., correlation, timing or measuring packet sizes), or subverting the cryptographic keys used to secure protocols can also be used as part of pervasive monitoring."
It's all "what" with no "who" or "how". Wiretaps and/or traffic analysis can happen all the ways I outlined above and more. And by different entities. As far as I know, combating it requires being specific.
"The motivation for PM can range from non-targeted nation-state surveillance, to legal but privacy-unfriendly purposes by commercial enterprises, to illegal actions by criminals."
Also relatively specific, without being overly so.
Hard to comment on it in a general sense. There's lots of forms of pervasive monitoring.