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> Oddly, I suspect if Google provided no free accounts at all--if you had to give a credit card and pay $5 to sign up--nobody would be complaining about this.
by Eisenstein 4y ago
> Oddly, I suspect if Google provided no free accounts at all--if you had to give a credit card and pay $5 to sign up--nobody would be complaining about this.
That is like saying 'if the DMV didn't offer IDs to people, no one would complain about not being able to get an ID'.
The fact of the matter is that email is 'de facto' online ID, and gmail has positioned itself into this role. They are now a societal need, not a luxury. They need to be regulated.
- vel0city 4y agoEmail may be a societal need, but Gmail === Email. They're one email provider in a sea of providers. There are dozens to hundreds of free email provider choices out there. One doesn't need Gmail to have a functioning email address.
- md_ 4y agoMy point was that this is a dumb argument. If email is a societal requirement--and maybe it is, or should be--public utilities should provide it. It's easy to build an email provider. Why shouldn't your state or local government provide one?