He is actually saying that the law could only change due to technological advance. That law (if memory serves) banned burning coal, which was how people heated their homes. There had to be something that could heat their homes instead of coal, before they could be compelled to use it.
My point is that replacing a complex technical system with a different technical system only reshuffles the set of problems that will need solving. The social and political problems that made the web what it is today won't disappear due to a redesign.