They might know what they are doing politically but in terms of modern technology and its implications I'm not convinced they know what they are doing technologically or socially. They are being driven by vocal advocacy from groups with an agenda and the media. Those advocates do make reasonable points about things we can all agree are good or bad in isolation and so the politicians often go along with it. But that doesn't mean they necessarily understand the full implications or have thought through the long-term consequences of the laws and regulations they propose.