A key part is that, while the GDPR undoubtedly is a good piece of law, it got introduced without a public debate on how the Internet should actually work and be funded.
Basically, GDPR kneecapped the entire business model of everyone but Wikipedia, and almost no thought was spared on how to replace that and make the Internet a better place for everyone.
> Basically, GDPR kneecapped the entire business model of everyone but Wikipedia
GDPR did no such thing. There are thousands, if not millions, of businesses operating online that _actually sell goods and services for money_ and GDPR did nothing to stop those.
On top of all that, you can still show ads while being GDPR compliant. Just not slurp-every-piece-of-data type ads.
Basically, GDPR kneecapped the entire business model of everyone but Wikipedia, and almost no thought was spared on how to replace that and make the Internet a better place for everyone.