I think this is actually a reaction to the over-reaching laws various governments are enacting. This is the way it should work - parents check a box that says "the user is 13 years old", and then apps and websites can see what the parent set.

This is much much better than having to do face scans and credit checks etc. to prove to some sketchy third party that you are over 18.

I think if Google had bothered to do this 5 years ago we might not be in the shitty situation we are now, but it's probably too late now.