Yes, I know of these systems and have been downloading/analyzing my personal data for years. And the press has written on the implications and risks of this data for years. I guess I don't understand what you're getting at? The NYT is not entitled to my or anyone else's data unless I give it to them.
Ostensibly, the story under discussion is interesting because it is personal data for millions of users who have consented (via agreeing to terms of services) to the collection, but haven't fully grasped what happens when that data can reveal to a third party.
If you haven't looked at it yet, Google's dashboard is pretty eye opening. You can see where you were every minute of the day years ago.