Regulation 1 mandates data collection, creating unintended consequences. Now, regulation 2 is required to counter the effects of regulation 1. Regulation 2's unintended consequences are similarly either unknown or ignored. This suggests that regulation 3 may be necessitated and that the trend may continue indefinitely.

In theory infinite regulations would suggest that no one would be permitted to do anything eventually. However, before we reach that point, the cost of compliance will be so high that publishing websites will become untenable.

An equilibrium of regulatory capture favoring large publishers will likely emerge before this point. Those large interests will have the resources to influence regulatory outcomes. Their incentives will include maintaining a sufficiently high barrier to entry while optimizing their own compliance costs.

It isn't because age verification has made storing personal information like this an "essential" operation.