alt Hacker News> They would be a solution if almost all parents used them
No, they are a solution for parents who want to use them, and that's all they should be. Their existence demonstrates that it's possible to handle this without regulation, other than the desire of some people to inflict their preferences onto other people's kids.
You haven't tried to use parental controls much have you? They are all terrible. They are insanely difficult to get set up properly and even when you do there are a lot of tradeoffs that come with it.