If that sounds implausible to you, then you've gotten trapped in the neoliberal mind-palace.
The term #RegulatoryCapture was popularized by far-right #ChicagoSchool economists who were promoting #PublicChoiceTheory. In their telling, regulatory capture is *inevitable*, because companies will spend whatever it takes to get the government to pass laws making what they do legal, and making competing with them into a crime:
https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/13/public-choice/#ajit-pai-still-terrible
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