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It's extortion in the same way that "obey the law or go to prison" is extortion.

Well, except that the excerpted line says they plan to waive the regulations (i.e. change the law) in the event of non-compliance...

So? They are just excercising their democratically awarded power.

If the law is a moving goalpost that depends on the color of the sky, then yes, it's the textbook definition of extortion.