The IRB Golden Age of Research

In 1998, when a researcher made a mistake and killed a patient, every major newspaper covered it. Academic ethicists wrote lots of papers about how no amount of supposed benefit could ever justify a single research-related death. Congress demanded the regulator regulate harder, and Ellis ratcheted up the IRB level. So why are things so much worse than the 1970s to 90s IRB golden age? I blame a more connected populace, cable TV, the internet, Twitter, etc., a near-tripling of lawyers per capita, and the lack of anything better to worry about. Research was fastest during the World Wars, when the government didn't have the luxury to worry about consent form