The assumption pre-Snowden was that only "hostile states" did that kind of thing, e.g fibres in and out of China were probably tapped, but most of the internet wasn't. Because, you know, search warrants do exist.

It's rather arrogant to say "everyone should have known". Snowden's leaks have been making waves for a year solid now exactly because he showed that reality was the worst case scenario only the most extreme of the extreme postulated previously.