There's a fix though - pull power back to the local level. These sorts of initiatives crop up when politicians feel too safe or remote from voters (who generall

There's a fix though - pull power back to the local level. These sorts of initiatives crop up when politicians feel too safe or remote from voters (who generally always have other priorities, often the economy or violent crime). So it's not any real surprise that this stuff is so often emerging at the EU level. The Commission doesn't have to care what voters think - it is in many ways a textbook dictatorship complete with a not-really Parliament - and so they focus on whatever ideas are trendy amongst the eurocrat set. Those people aren't much like the typical European. They're obsessed with certain ideas and ignore others completely. Information control is high up their priority lists, as are any issues that can be exploited to levy giant fines on American companies. They especially love those because the money goes straight into EU coffers the moment the decision is made by the Commissioners, without having to actually win any court cases and so it can be used to enhance their own power without having to get member states to agree to budget increases. Hence why there's a constant flood of internet related laws despite public dis-interest in the issue: https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2553 https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2553 "Europeans thought that the most important issues facing the EU at the moment of the survey were the environment and climate change (26%), rising prices, inflation, cost of living (24%) and immigration (22%). 41% of respondents mentioned prices, inflation, cost of living as one of the most important issues facing their country, before health (32%) and the economic situation (19%)." Other than the recent climb in the rankings for climate change, the results always look like that. People care about the basics - their personal wealth, health and who's in their local community.