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Cynically I'd say the manufacturers have bought that legislation to create bigger barriers to entry and cement their position. I definitely agree that disruption requires a battle on many fronts to remove incumbents. While not the same, uber, airbnb, and even tesla have managed to change or circumvent laws that protect incumbent interests, so it is possible.

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This is known as regulatory capture, and yes that’s exactly what has happened in every major industry. Established players help write legislation that favors them and raises the barrier to entry for the entire market.

Disrupters like those you mention find loopholes in the laws and exploit them long enough to litigate their case. In parallel they lobby for laws to make their businesses fully legal. If they fail on either front, they usually have run their gray market operation long enough to have spent all of their investors’ money.

This is why it’s important to support candidates that truly support lowering regulations. A candidate that’s actually serious about this will be eviscerated though.

So many voters exhibit the desire to be hassled by their government under the pretense that their government is going to hassle someone else.

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