... but as Brin observes, these tools are powerful. And the groups that exploit them will tend to become the powerful groups (because information is power).
So given that these tools, even when abused, don't lead to the kind of wanton destruction nuclear weapons do (that trigger our primal survival instincts), the odds of everyone on the planet generally refraining from accessing surveillance technologies when available are low, and those that do so will tend to become more powerful (and therefore spread the cultural meme that "hey, this stuff is okay in moderation").
So given that these tools, even when abused, don't lead to the kind of wanton destruction nuclear weapons do (that trigger our primal survival instincts), the odds of everyone on the planet generally refraining from accessing surveillance technologies when available are low, and those that do so will tend to become more powerful (and therefore spread the cultural meme that "hey, this stuff is okay in moderation").