From the article:

""" At the same time, regulators are beginning to address VPN use directly in legislation. Utah recently became the first US state to enact a law explicitly targeting VPN use in online age verification. The state’s SB 73 defines a user’s location based on physical presence rather than apparent IP address, even if VPNs or proxy services are used to mask it.

The EPRS suggests VPN providers may face increasing scrutiny as the EU revises cybersecurity and online safety legislation, noting that future updates to the EU Cybersecurity Act could introduce child-safety requirements aimed at preventing VPN misuse to bypass legal protections. """

The article gave one anecdotal example of a person who misdiagnosed themself and then tried to make a broader point by disregarding the definition of addiction. Addiction is not just how many times a compulsive behavior is done. It’s the inability to regulate oneself for the behavior often at the expense of relationships or other responsibilities. If you’re looking at porn when you should be working, that could be addiction, for example. Apply that to relationships too. If you’re looking at porn and masturbating instead of being with your spouse, that’s addiction too.

That's absolutely ridiculous. Porn addiction is 100% a real thing. You can't hand wave it away by saying "porn is actually ok, the problem is just that they believe it is bad so they feel shame".

Which is why the age restriction would apply to "normal" social media as well?

Parents destroy kids' brains the most.