FWIW, I can confirm that user 9283409232 didn't make that up. I heard that multiple reputable places, years ago.

And it was believable, given a history of genuine but inept attempts by some to address real societal problems. (As well as given the history of fake attempts to solve problems for political points for "doing something". And also given the history of "won't someone think of the children" disingenuous pretexts often used by others to advance unrelated goals.) Basically, no one is surprised when many governments do something that seems nonsensical.

So, accusing someone of making up a story of a government doing something odd in this space might be hasty.

I suspect better would be to give a quick check and then "I couldn't find a reference to that; do you have a link?"