Why do you think entirely different countries and states with entirely different politics across Europe Canada and America all pushing the same policy coincidentally within the space of 6 months has anything to do with democracy.

It’s people being paid off and it’s obvious.

External influence and lobbyism is part of the democratic process for sure. Stable democracies have self-correcting mechanisms to defend against too much pressure from any side. There is no reason (yet) to doubt the effectiveness of the European Union's self-correcting mechanisms.

IMHO, you're both right: There is an active, covert political campaign for more online surveillance under the guise of child protection going on world-wide right now; so much is clear to anyone following the various attempts everywhere. Yet as of now, this campaign hasn't lead to actual, harmful legislation in the EU.