I think the OP could be very right.
Step One according to sfl they replace printed PRCs with electronic ones.
Step Two they introduced in the EU a legal form for each publisher consenting his data being used wherever needed in Watchertowerdom. Those refusing report monthly, data i not collected, but not being in the database they can't hold any privileges above mic-bearer.
Step Three they are working on Publisher-ID, yes, but this simply makes transferring data between congs and branches easier.
Step Four they abolish reporting individual preaching hours. As has been described above they don't need it for planning literature production (though i doubt they ever really used it for this purpose. COs less and less regard hours as criterium for appointments. Above was mentioned the sfl no longer refers to this requirement.
BUT: Being CONTROL FREAKS, publisher weill be pressed more than before to show up for weekly FSM. GROUP CONTROL. Regular publishers must show up at least once amonth, and the Group Oversser will report this, so the number of publishers can be transferred to the branch. Consideration for appointments willbe: does brother X show up every Saturday and joins the group or does he only show up every other Saturday and slips away after the meeting... Pioneers will still have to report their special privilege hours or at least whether they made it or not. Knowing hours can be faked easily this absolutely makes sense to me.
This could be SOLD as a major relief to publishers while in reality it tightens the grip on the individual.
Cheers
LL