Yes I think when the social media bans (e.g. Australia, UK) are mentioned _this_ is the context that the conversation is missing.

Its not. A big problem with the way it was handled is that non logged in users aren't affected. So Youtube for instance, cant tailor its suggestions for the users age, and they get suggested really screwed up shit instead.

Age verification sucks. But most of these platforms need to be atomised, not restricted.