Who cares about a &quot;real name&quot;? A &quot;real name&quot; doesn&#x27;t tell you anything about a person. Or at least nearly nothing. It&#x27;s an arbitrary label. If I know how much money you spend on what, which other people you communicate with, how often, and at which times, I know way more about you than if I knew just your name. And I don&#x27;t need to know your name to recognize you by your cookies. Or your email address. Or your IP address.<p>If you regularly send emails back and forth with a specific doctor, I have a pretty good idea which condition you have. If you regularly call a specific company at specific times, I have a pretty good idea that you work there. ...<p>Also, private surveillance is not about &quot;finding you&quot;, but about influencing groups of people. For business purposes. Or maybe for political purposes. If I know that you are likely to be receptive to a specific kind of emotional message, I don&#x27;t care what your birth certificate says, I care about how to get that message onto your screen in front of your eyes.<p>And finally, as other have mentioned: Yes, it is a matter of pressing a button. That is the essence of what Snowden revealed, if you will.