Re:What would you do if you lost your Google account?
by alexis_fr on Sunday May 03, 2020 @02:48PM
(#23061001)
Even being a paying customer has little value. Remember that Jordan Peterson was #15 of Patreon with more than $1m revenue if I’m correct, yet he was removed abruptly, I think in the wake of being referenced in the Christchurch terrorist (together with his book being forbidden in NZ).
Even paying customers can be removed without trial.
Re:What would you do if you lost your Google account?
by tomhoward on Wednesday May 06, 2020 @12:44AM
(#23087975)
This isn't quite correct.
Peterson wasn't removed, he left in protest, along with Sam Harris and others, after Carl Benjamin ("Sargon of Akkad") was removed over what Patreon considered to be a policy breach. [1]
I'm not expressing any position on whether or not the Carl Benjamin ban was valid, I'm just wanting to correct the record.
[1] https://www.businessinsider.com.au/patreon-crowdfunding-plat...
Demand all you want. Remember that you're not a customer, you're a user. Google offers their free services to keep you in their ecosystem, which allows them to collect more of your data and serve you more ads.
Users are much more disposable than paying customers. So what if they piss off a few users? As long as most people keep using Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google search, YouTube, etc, there is no risk towards their bottom line.
Sure, you could try to go after them with government regulation, but they have tons of lobbying power. On top of that, even laws with the best intentions can often backfire and sometimes do more harm than good.
The only thing you can reasonably do is recognize your position and make sure you are never dependent on Google. You can still use Google services; just make sure you have a plan for when that suddenly stops being an option.