Perhaps we should no longer assume that politicians 'do not understand the internet' and assume they are asking for changes in the full understanding that they don't achieve the goal for which they're introduced.
As long as the situation that's being created is more favourable for them than the current one it's a net benefit.
Short-term politics is the biggest threat to UK society at the moment and the current government is particularly good at it.
I'd say the reason that the people in power want to be able to collect all information is not to protect the people, but instead to protect themselves and their friends in powerful positions.
One of the main threats to these large organisations and the people at the top of them ate journalists and whistleblowers. Because those are two groups of people that can provide critical data and reasoning on bad and evil things that are done within such large organisations.
So having the ability to find out who said what to whom will allow them to crack down or reporters and journalists before they can get their stories out. And it will allow them to trace and find out who the people are leaking sensitive information outside and deal with them.
In some way this is about protecting the people, just not the people we are all thinking of.
As long as the situation that's being created is more favourable for them than the current one it's a net benefit.
Short-term politics is the biggest threat to UK society at the moment and the current government is particularly good at it.