This sounds just creepy that they are suggesting no more anonymity on the internet... as a "fix".
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What if we all just had a static IP address, and a DNS name? …and the address migrated around the world with you? …and you could connect to any of your devices no matter where they were?
Does this not promote the destruction of anonymity on the Internet?
I'm not sure what you mean by this, but this sounds like exactly what they are, with some functionality on top. It's what I use to VPN into my LAN from outside, and it's pretty general purpose from where I stand.
Those are not general purpose VPNs though.
In fact, they are not even VPNs in the first place. They merely use the same technology to provide a private tunnel to the public Internet (and use the name in marketing material because by now people are familiar with it).
What they are not is general purpose private networks.
An actual VPN provides you with a private network that just happens to workover of the public Internet, usually encrypted, but is inaccessible from it.
A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. The benefits of a VPN include increases in functionality, security, and management of the private network. It provides access to resources that are inaccessible on the public network and is typically used for remote workers. Encryption is common, although not an inherent part of a VPN connection.
Saying that these services are "not VPNs" is unnecessary pedantry. Definitions evolve over time, and these services meet the common definition of a VPN.