Why do you think this is surprising? I post a topic about it ^[1] several months ago?
This platform is in the European Union and therefore operates in accordance with the restrictions imposed by the EU (thus anti-money laundering laws.)
They set a soft accountting system of imposing KYC restrictions where they are imposed based on accounts levels.
Read more ----> https://localbitcoins.com/blog/aml-features-update/

[1] localbitcoins | AML regulation