all these governments that supposedly prided themselves on their freedoms and fair processes are somehow becoming prisons to their own citizens

They don't pride themselves on those values though. Claims of democracy, tolerance, freedom, and rule of law are selectively used as justifications for whatever crap Western governments want to do. If they actually believed in these things they would act differently.

Seriously, and more than that, "by the people and for the people" are increasingly becoming hollow words contrasted with the reality of daily life. Corruption is increasingly rampant, and it's "rules for thee but not for me" everywhere you look (where thee are normal citizens, and me is corporations and government).

They're right to do that: they filled their country with criminals and gave them citizenship. The natural next step is to make them prisons.

is this not the subprime mortgage problem all over again?

Same basic issue, but not exactly the same thing in terms of sector or potential impact. The sub prime mortgage delinquency rate remains low as home loans became much more strict after 2008. So that portion of the economy is relatively safe right now. PE is a much smaller market and so the fallout from a private equity collapse, while significant, would theoretically be less likely to negatively disrupt the total market to the same extent as the 2008 housing crisis.

it's interesting that meta is at the forefront of any legal battles for AI when they're not at the forefront of the technological race

This is a very sensible statement. The legislators are out of control, and are severely unfamiliar with anything related to technology.

This is 100% about spying and information harvesting from users who deserve privacy, and would be better off managing their own children without the help of the government.

some might view it as an impossible goal, but if they enabled humor they would become more popular