Google can kill your digital identity for completely arbitrary, unknowable reasons. Especially if you are all-in on their system, as many, many people are.

How many people have ran to social media begging for help because every avenue offered for appeals are simply automatically rejected?

My “digital identity” isn’t tied to Google.

When Reddit started acting crazy, I deleted my Reddit account and didn’t look back.

When Facebook, went full MAGA, I deleted my Facebook and Instagram accounts.

I use Gmail. But if it disappeared, there are a million other email providers.

Google Photos is just one of many services my photos and videos sync to - iCloud, OneDrive, Amazon Drive (photos only) and my local Mac.

It would be an inconvenience for the few places that I use Gmail for. But I have use Apple’s Hide My Email feature since it’s been a thing and that’s connected to Yahoo address and I could change iCloud to forward to another email address.

It’s a lot easier to remove my dependence on Google than get from under the thumb of the US. I know, I’m seriously thinking about a “Plan B” to get out of the US after retirement with the way that the US is headed under President Musk with the dismantling of the health care system and trying to undermine Medicare and probably the ACA where I won’t be able to retire early and buy insurance on the public market.

Yes, but my government wouldn't care if I organized a protest. It's even likely that if I did, the police wouldn't even show up, and in the end, I have democratic control over it.

Meanwhile, I am in literal competition with basically all other people's companies.

You think you have control over what police do? In major cities not even the civilian government would dare piss off the police.

Besides, the police have qualified immunity according to the Supreme Court to do all sorts of nastiness.

They literally will not come unless there's indication that somebody will show up to throw rocks at me etc.

I'm Swedish. Qualified immunity is just not a thing at all.