I'm not sure. Millions of people cared enough about the wars in Vietnam and Iraq to take to the streets in protest, but the wars couldn't be stopped until the military-industrial complex sated itself. I suspect the same will be true of privacy rights, both online and off.

Governments are very, very good at paying lip service to democratic values while doing what they want behind closed doors.

Agreed. I think many people would naturally recoil from "big brother government oversight" but see no issue using similar means to have people found and locked up for calling someone an unpleasant name on twitter.