USB was defacto standard for data transfer, especially on PCs, but the /connector/ on the phone side was not at all standards compliant or uniform across makes and models, and up until the passage of that law, it wasn't uncommon for the power port to be separate. Now that is basically unheard of. I'm not saying the law is the only reason for this change, but it is clearly a big factor, yet it is omitted from this article.
Indeed, it was common for a USB-to-proprietary cable to be sold separately for at an additional charge. Now phone manufacturers are forced to resort to software to make it difficult to move data between phones and desktops. ;-)
I think it's still a design that is far larger than it needs to be. You could reconfigure the plug to use blades like the US and be in parallel like the italian plug. Then you can add shutters, shrouded pins, polarized pins and fuses and still be incredibly more compact. On top of it, the design will work well with folding plugs like many camera battery chargers yet still be grounded. That combination seems like the best.
Most of that is good except for the fuse. The only reason for the fuse is because of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_circuit which was only used during copper shortages.
The fuse makes the plug much much larger than it needs to be.
The American size, with some shrouding, would be better. Newer American plugs already have shutters and everything else you mentioned.
From the link:
Europlugs are only designed for low-power (less than 2.5 A) Class II (double-insulated) devices that operate at normal room temperature and do not require a protective-earth connection.
