It may or may not be overly paranoid, but I think the risk would essentially be that a publicly stated incorrect interpretation could be successfully used in court as evidence of failure to comply. I doubt the executive themselves would be held directly liable or be personally punished, it's just that it's a risk for the company that doesn't have any tangible benefit from a legal standpoint - so from a lawyer's perspective, why do it?
That being said - it seems unlikely that his understanding would be inaccurate given the amount of time and research and he claims to have done, so the actual risk could be negligible. It might even be conceivable that such a public statement could be used as legal evidence in the company's favor showing that the CEO took every practical step possible to comply to the best of a reasonable and well-informed person's understanding of the law. The public relations boost of giving out good knowledge/guidance (attracting talent, customers/clients) might be sufficiently beneficial to justify the risk.
That being said - it seems unlikely that his understanding would be inaccurate given the amount of time and research and he claims to have done, so the actual risk could be negligible. It might even be conceivable that such a public statement could be used as legal evidence in the company's favor showing that the CEO took every practical step possible to comply to the best of a reasonable and well-informed person's understanding of the law. The public relations boost of giving out good knowledge/guidance (attracting talent, customers/clients) might be sufficiently beneficial to justify the risk.