Because “protecting the children” is an easier political fight than trying to save adults from their own freedom, and the internet is not as clearly a threat as guns or drugs. And even guns are hard to restrict…

As an adult you have a right to make bad choices, as well as certain constitutional rights, and unless controlling your rights is can be accepted as required for the public good(like keeping you from driving a 2 ton murder box without training), it will die politically very, very quickly as government overreach.