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Google can block access to your Google account, which is enormously disruptive for many people whose online lives are built around it. In some ways it could be more disruptive in the long term than an arrest.


At least I can choose to not do business with Google. I can't do the same with my government. Even emigrating effectively requires their permission.


In principle, yes, but the lock in is real. Most non-technical people who have decades' worth of important data and credentials linked to their Google Accounts can't easily move away from them. Depending on personal circumstances, it's not difficult to imagine some international moves being easier than losing all your Google accounts. I've moved internationally several times, but I can barely contemplate what would happen if I lost my GMail.




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