In many cases "Where are you from" question should not really be considered a small talk.
@bookwar «where are you from» is a natural form the interest in different cultures and customs manifests itself when talking to people we don't yet know well.
of couse there have always been people capable of weaponizing any question into harassment.
and then there are people who abuse the defence against that to the point where any question can be proclaimed harassement and an innocent opponent canceled.
the world we've built for our kids :-(
I don't see a reason to bring discussion of harassment and "cancelling" into this conversation.
Maybe consider not jumping into a random conversation all defensive, when there is no one attacking.