I think that the trend of taking away features and choice from software users is not a singular phenomenon. This authoritarian mindset must come from somewhere, and I believe it mirrors the move towards surveillance and control in society at large.
There is no reason for developers to remove features that many users depend on other than the desire to control.
I agree completely with this blogger. This is definitely a real trend. As the identities become more fluid and less prescribed, people begin to feel panicky and terrified. They need an organizing principle, a controlling authority because too much freedom is scary. So the same society that is shedding the limitations of identities (gender, sexual, racial, class, regional, etc.) is choosing to discipline itself through other forms of control.
This is a form of collective self-flagellation.
Clarissa's Blog 
EU has secret plan for police to ‘remote stop’ cars
The EU is developing a secret plan to give the police the power to control cars by switching the engine off remotely
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/10605328/EU-has-secret-plan-for-police-to-remote-stop-cars.html
What if the car was going fast and then crashes killing its own and other cars’ passangers?
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No mass market product manufacturer has gone out of business by underestimating the intelligence and common sense of the general population. “Idiot-proof” products are manufactured because the companies don’t want to provide service, or at least service originating in the USA, not in Bangalore.
Annoying software is annoying largely because the IT department requires that everyone in the organization use the same product. IT: “Dam’ end users! This job would be great, except for having to deal with them.”
Home users can refuse to “upgrade” software, can go the UNIX/ LINUX OSs route for a great deal of open-source software, and so on. No rule out there that we have to bow to the animated paper clip (annoying Word feature).
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Hey, I am a grumpy pentagon, not a cheerful floppy-eared dog!
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I swear I will change the avatars back tomorrow. Because I half expect to see people protesting in front of my house with “No avatars, no peace!” signs.
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