> The accurate way of stating it is that it's about as possible, although not quite equivalent since, while it's true that the IRS can seize assets, garnish wag

> The accurate way of stating it is that it's about as possible, although not quite equivalent since, while it's true that the IRS can seize assets, garnish wages, place liens, etc, those all involve at least some cooperation with a non-government actor. I disagree that's an accurate way of stating it. IRS isn't lawless, and unlike Google it doesn't unilaterally write its own laws. It's got significant internal controls that prevent it from lawlessly "seize[ing] assets, garnish[ing] wages, place[ing] liens, etc" without relying on necessary cooperation from non-government actors to keep it in check. The US Government as a whole is also inhibited from much lawlessness through deliberately designed checks and balances and other mechanisms, mechanisms that are largely absent in private corporations like Google. Then there are elections, which provide some measure of accountability to the general population; rather than a smaller, self-interested set of shareholders as is the case with Google. All these mechanisms aren't perfect, but their importance needs to be understood and recognized.