There are many other laws where you‘re taking risks. Maybe you‘re violating some US securities statute? Maybe you‘re violating some German accounting rule?
Why haven‘t all those doomsayers closed down their businesses long before the GDPR?
I mean, technically I'm taking a risk when I step out of my house every day. So why ever walk?
There are varying degrees to which people see laws as affecting them. Small business tech owners, when a law says they have work to do, are going to feel affected. If there was a securities or accounting law that felt similarly overreaching one could expect a similar reaction. This is especially true if there is an alternative (locking out markets) that is easier. It's not helpful to try and compare the situations. It's also not fair to consider people weighing the costs of these laws as doomsayers. They aren't closing down their business, they're just restricting it to more business-friendly environments in their view.
Why haven‘t all those doomsayers closed down their businesses long before the GDPR?