Certainly not all forms of regulation result in regulatory capture. Simply following this German model where Google/Youtube isn't allowed to censor certain ideas doesn't lend itself to regulatory capture.
The advantage is not just 'regulatory capture'.
There is also an inherent moat in being a regulated industry.
Any new players will need to figure out the regulations, compliance, licenses and pitfalls before they can start to challenge you. That is a lot of upfront costs that will take a long time to recoup. Hence helping the old players remain entrenched.
I completely agree with this. I'd even argue that regulatory obligations should lapse without explicitly renewal.
Nonetheless, particularly on elements of values and principles: it is possible to create bright-line, lightweight, plain-English regulation. See the US Bill of Rights as an example. Let specific instances be litigated in the future, rather than specify all edge cases up front.
