Unfortunately, they have found that it is working quite well.

GDPR, cookie banners, VAT enforcement, reporting requirements, content filtering, copyright enforcement, KYC , age verification, app attestation, ...

They are all quite successful but for a very small fringe group that give up a lot to keep their independence.

The group is growing, but it doesn't warrant even a footnote in their evil plans. Let's keep it that way, we want to grow as long as possible unnoticed.

I think partly hackers are to blame. Their leftist hate for corporations and their surveillance led them to help the authoritarians in governments. For example GDPR got significant contributions from German, French and other European hacker organizations.

(I would be interested in nostr:npub1f49twdlzlw667r74jz6t06xxlemd8gp2j7g77l76easpl8jsltvqvlzpez , nostr:npub16lcw8ytugeh3ug3na93yl0tdf0gnjtduljhn2a852atf6jtvkucs7pruje and few other og hackers' opinion on this point)